Master Mateo (c. 1150 – c. 1200 or c. 1217) was a sculptor and architect who worked in medieval Christian kingdoms of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

during the second half of the twelfth century. He is best known now for the Pórtico de la Gloria of the

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish language, Spanish and Galician language, Galician: ) is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an inte ...

. He was also responsible for the of the cathedral in 1200, later torn down in 1603.

Background

The earliest information about Maestro Mateo is from an 1168 document in the archives of the cathedral of Santiago, which says that the Master was already working on the

, for which he received a large sum of money from King

Ferdinand II of León Ferdinand II ( 1137 – 22 January 1188), was a member of the Castilian House of Burgundy, Castilian cadet branch of the House of Ivrea and List of Leonese monarchs, King of León and kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1157 until his death. Life ...

. Very little information remains about his early training, but everything seems to imply that he already had a long career behind him all along the

Way of Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the Twelve Apostles, apostle James, son of Zebedee, James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Gal ...

, especially in the French sections.

References

External links

Portico de la Gloria
12th-century sculptors Medieval Spanish sculptors Medieval Spanish architects Romanesque architects Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Year of birth uncertain Romanesque artists 12th-century Spanish architects 12th-century people from León and Castile {{Spain-sculptor-stub