Mater Dolorosa, 17th century - Public domain dedication museum photo

Pedro de Mena was born in Granada, Andalusia. He was a pupil of his father, Alonso de Mena, and of Alonzo Cano. His first successes were works for the convent of St Anthony of Granada, including figures of St Joseph, St Anthony of Padua, St Diego, St Pedro Mentara, St Francis and St Clare. In 1658 he signed a contract to sculpt the choir stalls of the Málaga Cathedral, a project that took four years to complete. Other works include the statues of the Madonna with Child and St Joseph in Madrid, the polychrome figures in the church of San Isodoro, the Magdalena and Gertrudis in the church of San Martin (Madrid), the Crucifixion in Nuestra Señora de Gracia (Madrid), the statuette of St Francis of Assisi in Toledo, and St Joseph in the church of San Nicolás in Murcia. Mena travelled to Madrid in 1662[1]. Between 1673 and 1679 Mena worked in Cordoba. Around 1680 he was in Granada, where he executed a half-length Madonna with Child (seated) for the church of San Domingo. Mena died in Malaga, the city where he spent most of his life and where he had a sculpture studio for thirty years until his death in 1688. Mena and José Mora can be considered the artistic descendants of Juan Martínez Montañés and Alonzo Cano, but his statues are unsurpassed in Spanish sculpture in terms of technical skill and the expression of religious motifs. His ability to sculpt the nude was remarkable. Like his immediate predecessors, he excelled in the depiction of contemplative figures and scenes.