Covarrubias, Alonso de (c. 1488–1564)

Spanish architect and sculptor. His works, which mark the transition from the Gothic style to one increasingly influenced by Italian fashions, include the chapel of the New Kings (1531–34) in Toledo Cathedral. As architect to the royal castles he also oversaw the rebuilding of the Alcázar at Toledo (1537–53) for Emperor Charles V. Many of his works are good examples of the plateresque style.

Covarrubias was evidently trained in the Gothic tradition and, as one of nine consultants on Salamanca Cathedral, had an opportunity at an early age to practise in an essentially Gothic style. However, his subsequent works were executed in a manner influenced by contemporary Italian trends. Many of his most important works were executed in Toledo, where from 1504 he worked on the hospital of Santa Cruz with the late Gothic architect Enrique Egas; on Egas's death (1534) Covarrubias succeeded him as master mason at Toledo Cathedral.

Other works included the Church of the Piedad at Guadalajara (1526), a fine staircase at the archbishop's palace at Alcalá (c. 1530), and the rebuilding of the Bisagra Neuva gate at Toledo (1559).