Attributed to the workshop of Alonso Berruguete (Peredes de Nava circa 1488 - 1561 Toledo) Spanish, 16th century

While he is known today primarily as a sculptor, during his lifetime Alonso Berruguete was widely respected for his work across a variety of media including painting and architecture. He was the most important sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance who traveled to Italy, after his father’s death in 1504, to continue his study of art, spending most of his time in Florence and Rome studying sculpture under Michelangelo.

Berruguete returned to Spain in 1517, and in 1518, was appointed to the position of court painter and sculptor by Charles V. From this point onward, Berruguete concentrated on large sculpture commissions including an altarpiece at the Irish college in Salamanca (1529–1533), choir stalls at the Cathedral of Toledo (1539–1543) and a tomb for the Archbishop of Toledo, Juan de Tavera. He incorporated a variety of Mannerist motifs in his designs on his altarpieces for the church of San Benito el Real, Valladolid and the Mejorada de Olmedo, Valladolid (figs. 1 and 2) , including griffins and grotesques, much like those seen on the present pair of doors.