Biography

Gil de Ronza (1483-1523) was born in Ronse (Belgium), although he developed most of his career as a sculptor in Castile. He arrived in Spain at the end of the 15th century, probably accompanied by his brother Petijuan, who participated in the works of the main altarpiece of the cathedral of Toledo between 1499-1503 (Heim, 2001). In those same years Gil de Ronza is documented in Toledo as "maestro de ymagenes de bulto" (Azcárate, 1982). After the death of his brother in 1503, Ronza moved to Zamora, where he collaborated with Juan de Bruselas in the choir stalls of the cathedral (Teijeira, 1996). Shortly after, in 1505, he appears linked to Felipe Bigarny in the sculptural work of the main altarpiece of the cathedral of Palencia (Del Río de la Hoz, 2001). His presence in Salamanca is also documented in 1509, however, in 1521 he returned to Zamora, where he worked for the chapel of Dean Diego Vázquez de Cepeda in the convent of San Francisco (Martí y Monsó, 1907; Rivera de las Heras, 1998). Numerous works by Gil de Ronza are scattered in museums and institutions. For example, Ecce Homo (Corpus Christi Convent, Zamora), Muerte ( National Sculpture Museum, Valladolid) or San Miguel (The Cloisters, New York).

Bibliography

• AZCÁRATE, José María de (1982): "El maestre Gil del retablo mayor de Toledo", Miscelanea de Arte.
• DEL RÍO DE LA HOZ, Isabel (2001): El escultor Felipe Bigarny (h. 1470-1542), Junta de Castilla y León, Valladolid, pp. 62-63.
• HEIM, Dorothee (2001): "El retablo mayor de la catedral de Toledo: nuevos datos sobre la predela", en Actas del Congreso Internacional sobre Gil Siloé y la Escultura de su época, Institución Fernán González., Burgos, pp. 521-537.
• MARTÍ Y MONSÓ, José (1907): "La capilla del deán D. Diego Vázquez de Cepeda en el monasterio de San Francisco de Zamora", nº 3, Boletín de la Sociedad Castellana de Excursiones.
• PÉREZ MARTÍN, Sergio y RIVERA DE LAS HERAS, José Ángel (2024): "Una propuesta al escultor flamenco Gil Ronza: un relieve de alabastro en el Museo de Ávila", nº 3, Sarmental: Estudios de Historia del Arte y Patrimonio.
• RIVERA DE LAS HERAS, José Ángel (1993): "El Ecce Homo del convento del Tránsito y el escultor Gil de Ronza", nº 4, Barandales.
• RIVERA DE LAS HERAS, José Ángel (1998): En torno al escultor Gil de Ronza, Diputación de Zamora, Zamora.
• RIVERA DE LAS HERAS, José Ángel (2018): "Nuevas atribuciones al escultor Gil de Ronza y su taller", nº 18, Studia Zamorensia.
• TEIJEIRA PABLOS, María Dolores (1996): Juan de Bruselas y la sillería coral de la catedral de Zamora, Instituto de Estudios Zamoranos “Florián de Ocampo”, Zamora, pp. 34-35.