ALMONACID, Sebastián de

(b. ~1460 Torrijos, d. 1526 ?)

Spanish sculptor also known as El Maestro Sebastián (Sebastián de Toledo). He was born in Torrijos, although his name suggests that he was a native of Almonacid. He is one of the artists belonging to the group of Torrijos, formed in the workshop of Egas Cueman, including Antón Egas, Enrique Egas, Juan Guas and Alonso de Covarrubias, all related in Torrijos in one way or another. He was active mainly in Castile, in Guadalajara, Segovia and Toledo where he often worked alongside Juan Guas.

He contributed to the main reredos at Toledo Cathedral, but his work is principally in the field of funerary sculpture. His sculptures include the tomb of Martin Vázquez in the Cathedral of Sigüenza and the double tomb of the Constable Alvaro de Luna and his wife in the Cathedral of Toledo.

Tomb of Martin Vázquez

Toledan Hispano-Flemish spread rapidly through central Spain and on into the northwest. It is characterized as much by the marked ornamentalism of its forms as by the simplicity of its masses and its human sentiment. The principal Spanish exponent of this style was the sculptor Sebasti�n de Almonacid, whose name first appears in 1486. He is the author of the double tomb of the Constable Alvaro de Luna and his wife in Toledo cathedral, and is thought to have carved the tomb of Martin V�zquez de Arce in Sig�enza cathedral. The idealized realism of the effigy is one of the supreme achievements of Spanish plastic art.

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Tomb of Martin Vázquez (detail)

Almonacid is thought to have carved the tomb of Martin V�zquez de Arce in Sig�enza cathedral. The idealized realism of the effigy is one of the supreme achievements of Spanish plastic art.

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