Background
He was born in Madrid to a Catalan cabinetmaker, gilder and altarpiece joiner, Josep Simó Xoriguera i Elies and to doña Maria de Ocaña, and studied under his father along with two of his brothers.
He was born in Madrid to a Catalan cabinetmaker, gilder and altarpiece joiner, Josep Simó Xoriguera i Elies and to doña Maria de Ocaña, and studied under his father along with two of his brothers.
His excessively decorated style, which can be described as an obsessively over-wrought horror vacui on any surface or facade, led to the adjective churrigueresque. In Spain, the artistry appears to have been influenced by the highly decorated styles of Moorish architecture.
His artistic expression fused, with elaborate theatricality, the influences of Spain's late Renaissance style and that of the Roman baroque.
His most famous altarpiece is that in the church of S. Esteban, Salamanca (1693). It is an architectural frame for sculptures, carved and gilded, with projections and recessions in monumental proportions and featuring Solomonic (twisted) columns. Despite the lavish ornament, the altarpiece has an impressive dignity achieved by rhythmic unity and harmonious proportions.
The most original architectural work by Churriguera is his urban layout for a new town, Nuevo Baztán, near Madrid. It was commissioned by Goyeneche to include a glass factory, workers' dwellings, a church, and a palace in a complex with three plazas. Its architectural austerity is reminiscent of the work of Juan de Herrera, and its asymmetry is unique as well as visually effective.
