Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain

This 10-minute film explores the life and art of Alonso Berruguete, the revolutionary sculptor and painter of Renaissance Spain. Around 1506, when still a teenager, Berruguete traveled from his small town in Castile to Italy, where he came into contact with Michelangelo, whose emotionally expressive figures greatly influenced the young artist. Returning to Spain in 1518, Berruguete turned his focus to expansive retablos, the name in Spanish for the traditional kind of altarpiece that combines painting and sculpture. Narrated by C. D. Dickerson III, curator and head of the department of sculpture and decorative arts, the film traces Berruguete’s career, while capturing many of his masterful works that are too large to travel. Thanks to drone footage, the film grants unparalleled views of the choir of Toledo cathedral, the tomb of Cardinal Juan Pardo de Tavera, and the retablo mayor of the Colegio Mayor Arzobispo Fonseca, Salamanca.

The film was made in conjunction with the exhibition Alonso Berruguete: First Sculptor of Renaissance Spain. Funding provided by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain. The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas, in collaboration with the Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid.