Juan Guas

Juan Guas in a copy (approx. 1877) of the late medieval original from the burial chapel in the Church of Santos Justo y Pastor , Toledo ( Museo del Prado , Madrid )

Facade of the Colegio de San Gregorio , Valladolid

Juan Guas (also Jean Was , Jean Goas or Yann Gwazh ; * around 1430 in Saint-Pol-de-Léon , Brittany , † around 1496 in Toledo ) was a Spanish sculptor, architect and builder. He worked exclusively in Spain and was instrumental in the development of the Isabelline Gothic .

biography

Only a few facts and figures are known about his origin and his personal life; almost everything that is known about Juan Guas comes from building documents and oral traditions. His father was Pedro (Pierre?) Guas; he himself was married to María Alvarez and had several children; however, his birth and death year are controversial. As early as 1448 he can be found at his father's side during the construction of the Puerta de los Leones at Toledo Cathedral . In 1471 he was appointed master builder of the Cathedral of Ávila , without any significant structural elements being attributed to him; from 1472 to 1491 he also worked as a builder at the Cathedral of Segovia . In 1476 he was appointed royal architect and was given the title of maestro mayor de las obras del rey don fernando y de la reyna doña Isabel - a position he held until his death. He is buried in the Church of Santos Justo y Pastor in Toledo.

Works

• Avila Cathedral
• Segovia Cathedral
• Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes , Toledo (considered his masterpiece)
• Colegio de San Gregorio , Valladolid
• Palacio del Infantado , Guadalajara
• Castillo de Cuéllar , Segovia Province
• Castillo de Belmonte , Province of Cuenca
• Castillo de Miranda de Ebro , Burgos Province
• Monasterio Santa María de El Paular , Madrid Province

its participation in is controversial

• Castillo de Jadraque , Guadalajara Province
• Castillo de Palazuelos , Guadalajara Province

• 

  Church of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes , Toledo

• 

  Cloister of San Juan de los Reyes , Toledo

• 

  Courtyard of the Palacio del Infantado , Guadalajara

literature

• Fernando Chueca Goitia: Historia de la arquitectura española. 2 volumes, Diputación de Ávila 2001, ISBN 84-923918-7-1
• Begoña Alonso Ruiz: The Construction of the Cathedral of Segovia from Juan Guas to Juan Gil de Hontañón (PDF). In: Karl-Eugen Kurrer , Werner Lorenz , Volker Wetzk (eds.): Proceedings of the Third International Congress on Construction History . Neunplus, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-936033-31-1 , pp. 39-46.

Web links

Commons : Juan Guas  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Juan Guas - drawings, photos + information (Spanish)
• Juan Guas - Enciclopedia online of the Museo del Prado (Spanish)
• José María de Mena: Recordable Centenario de un Toledano en Normandia. Toletum 35, pp. 113–123 (Spanish; PDF; 316 kB)