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FIGUEROA, Leonardo de - b. ~1650 Utiel, d. 1730 Sevilla - WGA

FIGUEROA, Leonardo de

(b. ~1650 Utiel, d. 1730 Sevilla)

Spanish architect. He was active in Seville where all his known building are located, featuring yellow or white cut brickwork framed with red, glazed tiles. He favoured Solomonic columns, estípites, elaborately contorted cornices, and much statuary and carved decoration, all mingled in unbridled freedom, with occasional touches of mudéjar ornament.

Examples of his designs include the Hospital de los Venerables Sacerdotes (1687-97) and the Churches of La Magdalena (1691-1709) and San Salvador (1696-1711). He was responsible for the west door of San Telmo, and may have designed the outstandingly ornate and centralized Church of San Luis (1699-1731 - in which influences from Borromini and Rainaldi may be detected). His son, Ambrosio (1700-75), also worked in an ornate Baroque style in Seville (he designed Santa Catalina (1732) ), and his grandson, Antonio Matías (c.1734-c.96), was responsible for the campanile of La Palma del Condado (c.1780).

Exterior view
Exterior view by

Exterior view

During the final years of the seventeenth century, Leonardo de Figueroa introduced some important changes in the architecture of Seville. In the course of his long and fruitful career, he was instrumental in propagating a graphic and decorative approach to all surfaces. His late masterpiece was the elegant fa�ade of the Colegio de San Telmo, a foundling hospital established in 1671, where the new generation was trained for the roles of captains of the Atlantic fleet. From 1722 he and his son Matias began work on completing the structure with pronounced corner towers, organizing it around a large internal courtyard.

Work went on until 1735 and resulted in one of the most important buildings of the Andalusian Baroque. The three-story central stone pavilion stands out majestically from the restrained brick-built fa�ade. The decorative effect is heightened through the use of allegorical figures which illustrate nautical science and the importance of Seville.

The picture shows the fa�ade with the central pavilion.

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Exterior view
Exterior view by

Exterior view

During the final years of the seventeenth century, Leonardo de Figueroa introduced some important changes in the architecture of Seville. In the course of his long and fruitful career, he was instrumental in propagating a graphic and decorative approach to all surfaces. His late masterpiece was the elegant fa�ade of the Colegio de San Telmo, a foundling hospital established in 1671, where the new generation was trained for the roles of captains of the Atlantic fleet. From 1722 he and his son Matias began work on completing the structure with pronounced corner towers, organizing it around a large internal courtyard.

Work went on until 1735 and resulted in one of the most important buildings of the Andalusian Baroque. The three-story central stone pavilion stands out majestically from the restrained brick-built fa�ade. The decorative effect is heightened through the use of allegorical figures which illustrate nautical science and the importance of Seville.

The picture shows the fa�ade with the central pavilion.

Send Postcard Learn More
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