Architects of Madrid: Juan Gómez de Mora
Multifaceted architect, and a fundamental figure in the urban reorganization of Madrid during the XNUMXth century, he adopted in his works, the Herrera, sober and austere style, which dominated Spanish architecture for almost a century, and extended to America, becoming one of the hallmarks of the reign of Philip II.
Brief biographical sketch
Juan Gómez de Mora (Cuenca, 1586 - Madrid, 1648)
Son of Juan Gómez, camera painter of Felipe II, was born in Cuenca in 1586 but soon moved with his family first to Madrid and then to El Escorial.
Upon the death of his father, his uncle Francisco de Mora, Tracer and Master of the Villa and of the Royal Works, took charge of him and of his formation, charges that Juan Gómez de Mora will inherit after his death.
Juan Gómez de Mora stood out as the author of numerous designs that cover a great variety of architectural typologies, both civil and religious, as well as elements of ephemeral architecture.
Works
Some of his works still remain but many others have been lost, such as the Fountain of Abundance, which was in the Plaza de la Cebada until 1840, and of which only the author's sketches are preserved, as well as paintings and prints by Louis Meunier.
He develops most of his work in the capital, with milestones as the most important urban project of the time: the Plaza Mayor. In her she showed her technical skill: the Arc de Cuchilleros and the ladder to save the unevenness were her idea, although the current ones are of the reform of Villanueva after the fire of 1790.
As a royal architect, he works in the Alcázar, where he coincides with Velázquez for many years, in the Palacio de la Zarzuela, the Torre de la Parada de El Pardo, or the Panteón de Reyes de El Escorial, crypt under the basilica of the monastery where all the monarchs of the Austrian dynasty and almost all the Bourbons except Felipe V, who chose La Granja de San Ildefonso, and Fernando VI, who rests with his wife Bárbara de Braganza in the convent that she founded: the Salesas Reales. This was decorated by the Italian Crescenzi.
The influence of the Herrerian style with rectangular plants, symmetry and spiers, is evident for example in the old Court of Court, now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, which, like the Plaza Mayor, was also burned and it was also Villanueva to rebuild it.
Coinciding with the works of the prison, begins the House of the Villa, space that would function as a prison and as City Hall; this last function has maintained it until its transfer to the Telecommunications Palace.
Another of its great works was the call Near Felipe IV, extension of the wall for a Madrid that already reached the 90.000 inhabitants; in it they worked inmates and was financed with the sisa, a tax on wine.
Also within the Community he projected several works in Alcalá de Henares. Known as the Colegio de Málaga (current Faculty of Philosophy and Letters) and the convent of San Bernardo, built by order of the Archbishop of Toledo and patron, Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas. For the Gómez de Mora church, he built an oval plan inserted in a rectangle covered by an oval dome that was larger at the time. Inside, we must highlight the temple of the church and pieces such as the ark of Carlos V, made of silver and ebony, commissioned by his son Felipe II. An artistic monument since 1924, it suffered significant damage during the Civil War, so continuous rehabilitation and restoration work is carried out. In 2016, it was part of the "Open for works" program launched by the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage of the Community of Madrid.
Although he enjoyed position and recognition, his confrontation with other members of the guild and with the Duke of Olivares led him to be removed from the court and the loss of his charges, which does not recover until a few years before his death.
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