Ignacio García de Escucha, arquitecto, escultor y ensamblador asturiano-bogotano (1580-1629): aproximación a su vida y obra

Abstract

Este trabajo tiene como fin sacar a la luz a uno de los personajes más importantes de la vida artística en el Reino de la Nueva Granada (Colombia), durante parte del primer tercio del siglo XVII. Nacido en 1580 en Porceyo, Gijón, tras un primer aprendizaje en el entorno familiar, a comienzos del siglo xvii arribó a Toledo completando su formación en el taller de Alonso Sánchez Cotán. Habiendo emparentado con su maestro al casar con su hermana María, desavenencias conyugales le llevaron, hacia 1618, a Santafé de Bogotá. Poseedor de una sólida preparación teórico-práctica, aquí sería muy respetado y solicitado para afrontar las más importantes empresas artísticas del momento, como el retablo mayor de la catedral o el del convento de San Francisco. Todo ello, en última instancia, le permitiría lograr un importante patrimonio personal, como queda de manifiesto en el inventario hecho tras su muerte en marzo de 1629.

This work has the aim of illuminating one of the most important figures in the artistic life of the New Kingdom of Granada (Colombia), during the first third of the 17th century. He was born in 1580 in Porceyo, Gijón. After his first apprenticeship in a familiar environment, he arrived in Toledo at the beginning of the 17th century and completed his studies in the workshop of Alonso Sánchez Cotán. Although he had become a relative of his master, since he had married his sister María, marital disagreements took him to Santa Fe de Bogotá by 1618. Since he possessed a sound theoretical and practical education, he was highly respected there and also requested to lead the most important artistic enterprises of the moment, such as the main altarpiece of the cathedral or at the convent of San Francisco. Finally, these combined circumstances allowed him to attain great personal wealth, as it is stated in the inventory produced after his death in March 1629.