(b ?Castile, c. 1540; d ?Mexico, after 1581). Spanish sculptor. He worked in Granada from 1563 until 1572, when he is recorded in Seville until 1580. He may be the sculptor of the same name recorded in Mexico in 1581, as there is no mention of his death in Spain. In 1567 he was commissioned to carve the statues for the altarpiece (now in poor condition) in the church of Ojíjares, whose relief of the Holy Family (New York, Met.) is typical of his skilled compositions. In 1572 Pesquera carved the stone St Rufina and other religious images for the Capilla Real, Alcázar, Seville, and in the same year made a valuation of the altarpiece in the church of Colomera, where there are statues attributed to him. In 1574 he carved the stone statues of Hercules and Julius Caesar, associated with Charles V and Philip II, for the Alameda de Hércules, Seville, and the Mercury, cast in bronze, for the Alcázar, Seville. In 1579 he collaborated on the decoration of the Antesala Capitular of Seville Cathedral, to which he contributed various marble reliefs, including the Israelites in the Desert. Pesquera’s work shows the influence of Italian art, as well as that of Diego de Silóe and Alonso Berruguete; he is also noted for his skill and ability to interpret secular subjects.

• Pesquera, Diego de
  • Seville, §I, 2: History and urban development, 1248–1699
  • Seville, §IV, 1: Cathedral