Felipe Bigarny

Felipe Bigarny (c. 1475 – 10 November 1542), also known as Felipe Vigarny, Felipe Biguerny or Felipe de Borgoña, etc. and sometimes referred to as El Borgoñón (the Burgundian), was a sculptor born in Burgundy (France) but who made his career in Spain and was one of the leading sculptors of the Spanish Renaissance. He was also an architect.

His work shows Flemish, Burgundian, and Italian Renaissance influences. He gained great prestige working in various parts of Spain which led to his becoming the master sculptor and carver of the Burgos Cathedral. He also played a role in creating many important works for the Crown of Castile, simultaneously operating several studios, and thus became quite wealthy.

Born in Langres, Burgundy around 1475, Bigarny arrived in Italy as a youth and appears to have studied in Rome. As a result, Italian Renaissance influences can be found even in his early Gothic sculptural work.

In 1498, at about the age of 23, he traveled the pilgrim route to Santiago, staying on in Burgos. There he executed the technically precise reliefs of the main retrochoir of the cathedral, which led to further contracts and a lifelong career in Spain. He would end up working in every sculptural genre of the time, executing both sculptures and decoration, and working in both stone and wood.

In 1499 Bigarny designed the basic structure of the main altarpiece of the Toledo Cathedral, for which he was contracted by Cardinal Archbishop Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros. He also prepared a figure of Saint Mark the Evangelist and agreed to sculpt several reliefs for the altarpiece, which he did between that time and 1504. In those same years, he also made sculptures of Saints Augustine, Barbara, Gregory, Jerome, John the Baptist and of the Assumption for the altarpiece of the University of Salamanca. He next began plans for the chapel of the Sanctuary of the Palencia Cathedral, making it clear that although most of the work would be done by others in his studio, he personally would sculpt the faces and hands. On 12 December 1506, Bigarny delivered seventeen sculptures (among them a polychromed Saint Antoninus of Pamiers, the titular saint of the cathedral) and on 19 October 1509 he delivered the remaining nine figures. These were brought together on the main altarpiece of that cathedral. In 1509 he returned to Burgos to work with Andrés de Nájera on the choir stalls of the Burgos Cathedral, a project completed in 1512. The panels of the top row of side chairs are attributed to him and his workshop.

...
Wikipedia