Spanish Baroque Artists
Painters, Sculptors, Architects, Printmakers in 17th Century Spain: Jose Ribera, Francisco Zurbaran, Diego Velazquez, Bartolome Murillo.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE

Portrait of Pope Innocent X (c.1650)
By Diego Velazquez, one of the
great Spanish exponents of
Baroque portrait art.

THE BAROQUE ERA
For a list of the major painters
and sculptors from this period/
movement, see these resources:
French Baroque Artists
Dutch Realist Artists
Italian Baroque Artists

PAINTING COLOURS
For details of colour painting
pigments and hues used by
Spanish Baroque painters,
see: Renaissance Colour Palette,
and 18th Century Colour Palette.

Spanish Baroque Artists (c. 1600-1700)

Spanish Baroque Art

Spain was ruled during most of the 16th century by two Monarchs, the Emperor Charles V (1516-1556) and then his son Philip II (1556-1598), both of whom sought to centralise their royal power and strongly identified the Crown with the Church. Although Philip II in particular was interested in and informed about the arts, and commissioned works from a wide range of artists including Titian, Hieronymus Bosch as well as El Greco, patronage in Spain came mainly from the Church. The latter was especially traditionalist, and the Counter-Reformation in Spain developed along very orthodox lines, closely adhering to the doctrines of the Council of Trent, and emphasizing in art those themes being challenged by Protestantism - the Immaculate Conception and the cult of the Virgin; the Sacraments; the intercession of the Saints. Although Protestantism never penetrated Spain, the Counter-Reformation was very active. The Jesuit Order, a Spanish creation, was one expression of the nation's religious fervor.

The characteristic Spanish style of Baroque art owes much to the national pride in the example of her visionaries and martyrs - and their sometimes hideously gory sufferings. Spanish dignity, her pride in her faith, her empire and her nobility, so evident in the portraiture of the period, could easily erupt into sometimes ferocious passion. Thus, the mystic strain in Spanish art was accompanied by a relish for physical detail, a delight in intense realism.

BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
For more about architectural design
during the 17th century, see:
Baroque Architecture.

GREAT EUROPEAN PAINTERS
For biographies and paintings
of the greatest artists in Europe
from the Renaissance to 1800,
see: Old Masters: Top 100.

ARTISTS SINCE 1800
For details of the best modern
painters, since 1800, see:
Famous Artists.

WORLDS TOP ARTISTS
For the greatest view paintings:
Best Landcape Artists.
For the finest still lifes, see:
Best Still Life Painters.
For the greatest portraits
see: Best Portrait Artists.
For the greatest genre-scenes:
Best Genre Painters.
For the top historical painting,
see: Best History Painters.

Development of Spanish Baroque Painting & Sculpture

Painting/sculpture in Spain during the Early and High Renaissance periods (c.1400-1530) produced few Spanish Renaissance artists of any stature and little art of any enduring quality, . Even the Mannerist era in Spain (c.1530-1600) witnessed only one great painter - the Greek artist Domenikos Theotokopoulos, better known as El Greco (1541-1614). By the time El Greco died in 1614, Toledo had ceased to be the capital Castile and Spain; the court was settled in Madrid and other cities, too, had developed and prospered. Early in the 17th century painting flourished especially in two centres, Valencia and Seville.

Then suddenly, from the later part of the 16th century, Spain is awash with great Baroque painters - the Caravaggist Jose Ribera (1591-1652) based in Naples; the great devotional artist Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1644); the monumental figurative painter and court portraitist to King Philip IV, Diego Velazquez (1599-1660); the leading Spanish flower-painter Juan de Arellano (1614-76); the sentimentalist artist from Seville, Bartolome Murillo (1617-82); Charles II's court portrait artist in Madrid, Claudio Coello (1642-93); and the Cordoban painter and engraver Juan de Valdes Leal (1622-90) who founded the Seville Academy of Fine Arts, among others. All worthy predecessors of great modern Spanish painters like Goya, Picasso, Juan Gris and Joan Miro. See also: Baroque Sculptors.

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ART
For details of art movements
and styles, see: History of Art.
For the chronology and dates
of key events in the evolution
of visual arts around the world
see: History of Art Timeline.

WORLD'S GREATEST ARTWORKS
For a list of the Top 10 painters/
sculptors: Best Artists of All Time.

PAINTING
For more about the history
of oils, acrylics, watercolour
and other types of painting,
as well as famous painters,
see: Fine Art Painting.
For the history of oils,
see: Oil Painting.

SCULPTURE
For information about the
"plastic arts" and 3-D works
in bronze, stone and clay,
along with biographies of
famous sculptors, see:
Sculpture Art.

MEANING OF ART
For a discussion of the types,
values, and significance of the
visual arts, see: Definition of Art.

List of Spanish Baroque Artists

Angel, Pedro (Active 1583-1617) Graphic Artist
Antolinez, José (1635-1675) Painter (Madrid)
Arellano, Juan De (1614-1676) Painter (Madrid)
Barrera, Francisco (1595-1658) Painter (Madrid)
Bobadilla, Jerónimo De (c.1620-1709) Painter (Seville)
Bocanegra, Pedro Anastasio (1638-1689) Painter (Granada)
Cabezalero, Juan Martín (1633-1673) Painter (Madrid)
Cajes, Eugenio (1575-1634) Painter (Madrid)
Camilo, Francisco (1615-1673) Painter (Madrid)
Camprobín, Pedro De (1605-1674) Painter (Seville)
Cano, Alonso (1601-1667) Painter
Carducho, Vicente (1576-1638) Painter
Carreño De Miranda, Juan (1614-1685) Painter (Madrid)
Castelló, Vicente (c.1588-c.1636) Painter (Valencia)
Castillo, Antonio Del (1616-1668) Painter (Cordoba)
Castillo, Juan Del (c.1590-c.1657) Painter (Seville)
Cerezo, Mateo The Younger (c.1626-1666) Painter (Madrid)
Churriguera, José Benito (1665-1725) Architect
Coello, Claudio (1642-1693) Painter (Madrid)
Collantes, Francisco (1599-1656) Painter (Madrid)
Corte, Gabriel De La (1648-1694) Painter (Madrid)
Corte, Juan De La (c.1590-1662) Painter (Madrid)
Díaz, Diego Valentín (1586-1680) Painter (Valladolid)
Do, Giovanni (c.1617-1656) Painter (Naples)
Escalante, Juan Antonio Frias Y (1633-1670) Painter (Madrid)
Espinosa, Juan Bautista De (1590-1641) Painter
Espinosa, Juan De (1628-1659) Painter (Madrid)
Fernández, Gregorio (c.1576-1636) Sculptor (Valladolid)
González, Bartolomé (1564-1627) Painter
Gutiérrez, Juan Simón (1643-1718) Painter (Seville)
Hamen, Juan Van Der (1596-1631) Painter (Madrid)
Herrera, Francisco De, The Elder (c.1590-1656) Painter
Herrera, Francisco De, The Younger (1622-1685) Painter
Hiepes, Tomás (c.1610-1674) Painter (Valencia)
Iriarte, Ignacio De (1621-1670) Painter (Seville)
Ledesma, Blas De (1602-1614) Painter (Granada)
Maino, Fray Juan Bautista (1581-1649) Painter (Madrid)
Martínez, Jusepe (1600-1682) Painter
Mazo, Juan Bautista Martinez Del (1610-1667) Painter (Madrid)
Mena, Pedro De (1628-1688) Sculptor
Montañes, Juan Martinez (1568-1649) Sculptor
Moya, Pedro De (1610-1674) Painter
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban (1617-1682) Painter (Seville)
Núñez De Villavicencio, Pedro (1640-1700) Painter (Seville)
Orrente, Pedro (c.1580-1645) Painter (Valencia)
Pacheco, Francisco (1564-1654) Painter (Seville)
Palomino, Acislo Antonio (1655-1726) Painter
Pareja, Juan De (c.1606-c.1670) Painter
Pereda, Antonio De (1611-1678) Painter (Madrid)
Pérez Sierra, Francisco (1627-1709) Painter (Madrid)
Pérez, Bartolomé (1634-1693) Painter (Madrid)
Ponce, Antonio (1608-1677) Painter (Madrid)
Puga, Antonio (1602-1648) Painter (Madrid)
Ramirez, Felipe (1628-1631) Painter (Toledo)
Ribalta, Francisco (1565-1628) Painter
Ribalta, Juan (1597-1628) Painter (Valencia)
Ribera, Jusepe De (1591-1652) Painter (Italy)
Rizi, Francisco (1614-1685) Painter (Madrid)
Roelas, Juan De Las (c.1560-1625) Painter (Seville)
Roldán, Pedro (1624-1699) Sculptor (Seville)
Salzillo, Francisco (1707-1783) Sculptor
Sanchez Cotán, Juan (1561-1627) Painter
Solís, Francisco De (c.1620-1684) Painter (Madrid)
Spagnoletto, Lo (nickname for Ribera, Jusepe De) (1591-1652) Painter
Tomé, Narcisco (Active 1715-1742) Sculptor
Torres, Clemente De (c.1662-1730) Painter
Tristán, Luis (1586-1624) Painter (Toledo)
Valdés Leal, Juan De (1622-1690) Painter (Seville)
Velázquez, Diego Rodriguez De Silva Y (1599-1660) Painter
Viladomat Y Manalt, Antonio (1678-1755) Painter (Barcelona)
Villandrando, Rodrigo De (Active 1608-1622) Painter (Madrid)
Zurbarán, Francisco De (1598-1664) Painter
Zurbarán, Juan De (1620-1649) Painter (Seville)

• For biographies of established painters and sculptors in Ireland, see: Famous Irish Artists.
• For information about visual arts in the 32 counties, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.