Benigno Montoya Muñoz
Benigno Montoya Muñoz (1865–1929), also known as Benigno Montoya, was a Mexican architect, painter, and sculptor. He is best known for his funerary art and sculpture in Durango, Mexico. In 2002, his work at the Pantéon de Oriente was honored with the establishment of the Museo de Arte Funerario Benigno Montoya. Biography Benigno Montoya Muñoz (1865–1929) was a Mexican architect, sculptor and painter. A skilled quarry master whose sculptures and funerary works are considered to be distinguished and unique, Montoya Muñoz started an apprenticeship working alongside his father at the age of twelve. After joining the family business, it soon became apparent that Montoya Muñoz had a talent for creating sculptures in the Neo-classical and Neo-gothic style (he favored the neo-gothic style) that were popular in Mexico at the time. Throughout his life, Montoya Muñoz would work primarily on religious buildings, turning to funerary work after the Mexican Religious Revolution of the early 1900s prevented his ability to work on cathedrals and temples. Early life Born to Jesús Montoya and Hesiquia Muñoz Montoya, Benigno Montoya Muñoz was born in the Mexican state of Zacatecas on February 13, 1865. Soon after his birth, Montoya Muñoz’s father, Jesus Montoya, moved the family