Diego de Siloe
ca. 1495 - October 22, 1563
Born in Burgos, Spain. Died in Granada Spain.
Life
Diego de Siloe, spent his life primarily in three different Spanish cities, Burgos, Naples, and Granada. De Siloe's life seems to have revolved around his work. Son of sculptor Gil de Siloe, Diego was most likely taught by his father and probably studied in Florence. He was not married, and had no children. He closely worked with the church sculpting many monasteries and cathedrals. He stepped over others to further his career, in 1527 he was sued by his associate for entering their collaborated work in a contest.Like many artists, it seemed that to Diego, his architecture was his most prized possession.
Patrons
It is not known exactly who DIego de SIloe's patrons were. He was mostly commissioned by churches and other religious groups to build their things.
Some of de Siloe's works
Cathedral de Burgos Staircase
San Jeromino Monastery Statue
Cathedral of Granada Entrance
San Jeromino Alter
The San Jeromino Monistary was worked on from 1528-1543. The monistary is located in San Jeromino, Spain.
Significance and Views
The monastery's alter was very revolutionary by incorporating the Renaissance view of humanism while also giving a classicism view of religion before all else. This painting is obviously a very religious piece, but instead of using perfect versions of gods, it is humans who make up this painting, not God, man. Though ironically located in a church, this piece represents man over God. This piece also relates to impressionism because it uses de Siloe's special style of architecture called Plateresque. It gives the illusion that the statues are coming out at you.
What Spoke to Me
This alter is beautiful. The fact that God and Jesus are both displayed as humans just like everyone else on display. The aura of symmetry while also noticing slight differences on each side gives the painting a imperfect feel and shows even the mighty church, is not as god-like as it seems.
Cool Fact
- Diego De SIloe is considered one, if not the, first great Renaissance artist from Spain.
Works Cited
"Diego de Siloe." International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture. Gale, 1993. Biography in Context. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Diego de Siloe. Cathedral of Granada. 1536. Architecture. Cathedral of Granada, Spain.
Diego de SIloe. Cathedral de Burgos. n.d. Architecture. Cathedral de Burgos, Spain.
Diego de Siloe. San Jeromino Monastery. 15th century. San Jeromino Monastery, Spain.
Diego de Siloe. San Jeromino Monastery. 15th century. San Jeromino Monastery, Spain.