Damià Forment

Who was Damià Forment?

Damià Forment was a Spanish architect and sculptor, considered the most important Spanish sculptor of the 16th century.

Forment studied in Rome and Florence before returning to his native town of Valencia. He worked there from 1500–09, and then moved to Zaragoza, where he kept his studio for the rest of his life. The sculptor Juan de Salas was one of his apprentices, and later was employed carving images for his master in wood and alabaster, being paid based on the area of the work.

Forment's earliest major work was the alabaster Gothic-Renaissance altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, which was preserved when the 15th-century basilica was destroyed and was installed in the present 17th-century structure. He is also known for the altarpieces of the churches of San Miguel de los Navarros and San Pablo, both in Zaragoza, of the cathedral of Huesca, done in the Mannerist style; the altar of the Poblet Monastery, his first work entirely in the Renaissance style; and for his last work, the Renaissance altar of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada.