Why are the works of famous Spanish artists of the 17th century appreciated all over the world: Zurbaran, Velazquez, etc

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Most of the Spanish masters were deeply influenced by the great Italian painters. Spanish artists scrutinized Italian works and brought new elements to their art. Spain is home to many of the world's greatest artists from all periods of art, but the greatest contribution is undoubtedly from the Baroque period of the 17th century. The following list of artists could easily be expanded with other names, but here are ten of the most revered Spanish artists of the 17th century.

1. Antonio de Pereda

Antonio de Pereda was a multifaceted artist who was deeply influenced by Venetian and Dutch art. He introduced the symbolism of vanity into Spanish Baroque, a motif that he adopted from his studies of Dutch art.

There is not enough biographical data about Antonio's life, but historians and art historians as one insist that painting was in his blood, since his father was also an artist. When he settled in Madrid at a young age, he became a pupil of Pedro de las Cuevas alongside such important figures as Juan Carreño de Miranda. He studied the great Italian and Dutch masters and was lucky enough to make influential friends who helped him gain numerous court commissions.

Pereda is known mainly for his still lifes, but also for a number of historical works executed at a young age. Helping Genoa is perhaps his most valuable work, as it serves as an excellent example of the variety of techniques used by the artist - atmospheric perspective, complex and dynamic composition, excellent use of warm colors.

2. Jose de Ribera

José de Ribera was born in Spain, but spent most of his life in Italy, so he is also considered an Italian artist. His art illustrates dramatic and realistic depictions of mythological scenes and plots. The main elements of his style were tenebrism and naturalism, so his paintings were extremely realistic and often terrible.

Jose spent his first years of study with Francisco Ribalta in Valencia before officially moving to Italy. Over the years he lived in important art centers such as Venice, Rome and Naples, where he became involved with the famous Caravaggists. Since Naples was under Spanish rule at the time, Ribera's Spanish citizenship helped him attract the attention of high-class and renowned art collectors. In fact, there were times when he was considered the most prominent painter in Naples despite being a Spaniard.

3. Francisco Ribalta

Francisco Ribalta lived only the first quarter of the 17th century, but undoubtedly left his mark on history and is considered one of the most influential figures of the early Spanish Baroque. He is considered the first Spanish painter to adopt and use the tenebrism style in the early 1600s.

In his early life, Francisco lived and wrote in Madrid. Most of his work was commissioned by the religious authorities, but unfortunately only one piece of art from this early Mannerist period has survived to this day. When the death of King Philip II in 1598 put an end to most of his royal assignments, the artist moved to Valencia and opened his own workshop.

He painted in a wide variety of styles until about 1610, when his works became much more realistic under the influence of the tenebrism style. The source of influence on the adoption of this style is unknown, but it is possible that he visited Naples or Rome, where at that time Caravaggio had the greatest followers. His recently adopted style influenced an entire generation of Spanish Baroque artists and paved the way for some of the greatest names in art, such as Diego Velazquez.

4. Juan de Valdes Leal

Juan de Valdes Leal was not only an artist, but also a sculptor and architect. He devoted his work to religious art, and most of his works were commissioned by the religious authorities of Seville and Cordoba. The artist is known for his dramatic plots, which often even seemed cruel.

Valdez's painting was not like anything that was created around him. Despite the irregularities in his style, his versatility in the use of color and light was unique. He was more interested in facial expressions than beauty.

He was also a co-founder of the Seville Academy of Arts with Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, despite the absolute difference in their painting styles. After Murillo's death in 1682, Valdes became the most prominent painter in Seville and continued to paint for the rest of his life.

5. Claudio Coelho

Claudio Coelho was one of the last great masters of the Spanish Golden Age and 17th century. He drew inspiration from the famous court painters Diego Velazquez and Juan Carreño de Miranda, but also studied the works of great masters such as Titian and Peter Paul Rubens from private collections during his apprenticeship with Francisco Risi.

The most dominant subjects in his paintings were religious, and therefore most of his commissions came from the churches and cathedrals of Madrid, as well as from the royal family. In fact, he was appointed the royal painter of Charles II in 1683. Over the years as a court painter, he added portraiture to his religiously oriented repertoire. In the last years of his life, Claudio wrote fewer works. Instead, he devoted his time to overseeing and restoring the royal collections.

6. Francisco Risy

Like many of his famous contemporaries, Francisco Risi was deeply influenced by Venetian art and spent years studying it. He was also one of the first Spanish Baroque painters to introduce her character into Spanish artistic circles.

Francisco was a versatile artist, so orders came from all walks of life. His paintings are characterized by rich colors, outstanding compositions and dramatic plots under the Venetian influence. Of course, like most of his contemporaries, most of his work was done for churches and religious authorities.

In 1656 he was appointed painter to King Philip IV, where he served until he fell out of favor when Charles II took the throne at the age of four. It is curious that one of his successors as an artist under the king was one of his greatest students - Claudio Coelho. It is also worth noting the fact that Francisco worked until the last days of his life, while recruiting groups of students.

7. Juan Carreño de Miranda

One of the few famous Spanish portrait painters of the 17th century, Juan Carreño de Miranda was one of the most important court painters in Spanish history. In fact, he is second only to Diego Velazquez, whose influence is clearly visible in the work of Carreño. Juan is mainly known for his portraits, but his repertoire covered most of the art areas characteristic of the Baroque era. In the early years of his life, he devoted himself to religious painting and received numerous commissions from churches and cathedrals.

It was only after he was appointed artist to the king in 1669 that he dedicated his work to portraiture. His portraits were often solemn and austere, with a neutral background. It captures the true elegance of a courtyard without the use of glittering decorations.

Some of his most prized portraits today are those of The Duke of Pastrans and Peter Potemkin. However, he is mostly known for the series of portraits of Charles II that depict various stages of his life.

8. Bartolome Esteban Murillo

In the era of dark art, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo stood out among other Spanish artists with a much lighter and lighter style of painting. Without a doubt, this may be one of the main reasons for the immediate recognition of his art compared to most of his famous contemporaries such as Velazquez and El Greco, who, despite their undeniable success, received their well-deserved appreciation almost two centuries later.

Murillo is mostly known for his religious paintings, which remain some of the most valuable works of Spanish artists, but he also painted many realistic paintings depicting life in the 17th century. He had the ability to represent the extraordinary in a simple, subtle and harmonious way. The artist portrayed Christ, the Holy Virgin and other characters from the Bible as children and adolescents, making them incredibly alive and realistic, almost spiritual and childishly charming. We can safely assume that he created a completely new genre of painting, which was in complete contrast with the religious-thematic works of his contemporaries.

9. Francisco de Zurbaran

Francisco de Zurbaran was devoted to faith and religion all his life, and therefore these were the main themes of his work. He is well known for using chiaroscuro in his paintings, one of the greatest artistic techniques developed during the Renaissance. He was deeply influenced by Caravaggio, whose art he deeply studied and whose techniques and elements are clearly visible through the various paintings of Zurbaran.

Although he was the most famous painter in Seville for many years after Velazquez left for Madrid, he received several royal commissions and is said to have spent the last years of his life in poverty.

When it comes to his paintings, they are characterized by simpler compositions and depictions of reality, but demonstrate Zurbaran's undeniable talent as a portrait painter. His outstanding use of light enhanced the characteristics of his subjects and displayed his absolute control over expressions and faces.

10. Diego Velazquez

Diego Velazquez is considered the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque era today. Although he was already incredibly successful in his lifetime, he was truly appreciated centuries later, in the 19th century, for his artistic style, which was clearly ahead of its time. His approach to painting was individualistic and contrasted with the traditional depicting styles of his modern day.

His naturalistic style, which subsequently had a direct influence on the emerging styles of impressionism and realism, focused on the reliable and accurate depiction of scenes, which was unusual for artists of this and any previous periods in art.

Although Velazquez was the most important figure in the court of King Philip IV and painted for royalties all his life, he was deeply interested in the life of the common man and wrote a large number of everyday scenes involving common people, as in his famous work "Menina". In fact, unlike most of his contemporaries, he was interested in all genres of painting, treated everyone with perfection, so no other Spanish artist of the Baroque era could compare with the brilliant Velazquez.

Continuing the topic of art, read the article on why most medieval paintings babies look so mature and creepy.