Page 243 - The mystery of faith

many wood sculptures Michel made for the court were a set of fire Fig. 4
screens for the Palacio del Buen Retiro.4

Michel also produced wooden sculptures – now, sadly, for the most
part, lost – for various churches throughout Madrid, including the
Comendadoras de Santiago, the Church of San Bernardino, the
Oratory of San Felipe Neri, the main altarpiece of San Fermín de los
Navarros, and the churches of San Ignacio, San Marcos5 and others
in Navarre.

In the Royal Chapel (1754) Michel worked in collaboration with the
Galician sculptor Felipe de Castro and made twelve putti in stucco,
eight of which in the cupola bear garlands, while the other four bear
attributes of the Cardinal Virtues. The king’s chief sculptor,
Giovanni Domenico Olivieri stated that: ‘Even seen from such a
great distance, one could not but appreciate how in every part, the
true beauty of art has been recognized, measured and achieved’.

Additionally, putti and genii by Michel can still be seen in various
rooms in the Palacio Real; as in the Colegiata de la Granja de San
Ildefonso, the Palace of Aranjuez, the Palacio de El Pardo, and others. In some cases, these white-
painted figures also bear gilded symbols or attributes, often floral garlands, or oak leaves, in keeping
with what came to be recognized as this French-born sculptor’s characteristic style.

1 J. A. CEÁN BERMÚDEZ, Diccionario histórico de los más XXIII, no. 90, 1986, p. 37; C. LORENTE ARÉVALO and C.
ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en España, 6 vols, TASCÓN GÁRATE, ‘Nuevas aportaciones a la biografía del
Madrid 1800, vol. III, pp. 147-152; and ID., Diccionario escultor Roberto Michel’, in Anales de Historia del Arte,
histórico de los más ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en Universidad Complutense, 1995, vol. V, pp. 225–236.
España [1800], Reales Academias de Bellas Artes de San 3 A. PONZ, Viage de España, 3rd ed., Madrid 1793, vol. V;
Fernando y de la Historia, Madrid 1965, vol. III, pp. E. SERRANO FATIGATI, ‘Escultura en Madrid desde mediados
147–153. del siglo XVI hasta nuestros días’, in Boletín de la Sociedad
2 D. MENÉNDEZ RAYÓN, La Antigua Aduana de Madrid, Española de Excursiones, 1909, vol. XVII, p. 273; F. JAVIER
Imprenta de Miguel Ginesta, Madrid 1871, pp. 30–32; M. SÁNCHEZ CANTÓN, ‘Roberto Michel escultor del siglo
LUISA TÁRRAGA BALDÓ, ‘Esculturas y escultores de la Puerta XVIII’, in Boletín de la Sociedad Española de Excursiones,
de Alcalá’, in El Arte en tiempos de Carlos III, IV Jornadas 1917, vol. XXV, p. 3.
de Arte. Inst. ‘Diego Velázquez’ CEH del CSIC, Madrid 4 G. FERNÁNDEZ BAYTON (archiv.), Inventarios reales:
1989, pp. 267–276; M. L. TÁRRAGA BALDÓ, ‘Los estucos de testamentaria del Rey Carlos III, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Roberto Michel para el Palacio de El Pardo’, in Archivo 1985.
Español de Arte, 1989, vol. LXIII, no. 247, pp. 315–329; J. 5 P. DE RÉPIDE, ‘Rincones de Madrid: la Plaza de la Paja’, in
BUADES TORRENT, El Edificio del Ministerio de Hacienda y Ilustración Española y Americana, Madrid 1915, no. 82;
su Tesoro Artístico, Madrid 1982, pp. 62–72; J. LUIS PONZ, Viage de España cit, vol. V, p. 189; CEÁN BERMÚDEZ,
MELENDRERAS GIMENO, ‘La obra de Roberto Michel, Diccionario histórico cit., vol. III, p. 151.
escultor de cámara del Rey Carlos III’, in Reales Sitios,

243