Francisco Herrera

Background

Francisco Herrera was born in 1576, in Seville, Andalucia, Spain.

Career

Herrera is said to have worked for a short time as a master of Diego Velázquez, and he had been claimed as the originator of a new national style that culminated in the achievements of Velázquez. It seems, however, that Herrera was a follower, rather than a forerunner, of the new style. His earliest-known works, an engraving of "Saint Ignatius of Loyola", created in 1610, and a painting of the "Pentecost", created in 1617, are in the Mannerist tradition, far removed from the simple Caravaggesque naturalism of Velázquez’s earliest works. Herrera’s later compositions, such as "The Apotheosis of St. Hermenegild" (1624), echo the Venetian manner of Juan de las Roelas. A marked development in the direction of naturalism first appeared in three scenes from the life of St. Bonaventure commissioned in 1627 by the Franciscan convent in Sevilla; that may be attributed to the influence of Francisco de Zurbarán, who contributed four paintings to the series. Naturalism in Herrera’s work was accompanied by a broad technique, akin to José de Ribera’s; but in later works, such as "St. Basil", created in 1637, his brushwork became so coarse that it distorted the forms.

Sometime after 1638 Herrera moved to Madrid. He seemed to have been unaffected by the later development of Velázquez or by other court painters. The elongated forms and elaborate draperies of "St. Joseph", created in 1648, his last documented work, nevertheless suggest that he may have been influenced by the style of Anthony Van Dyck. Herrera appeared to have acquired considerable fame in Sevilla in his own time. His influence on other artists was revealed in "The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes", which was the model for Bartolomé Murillo’s painting of that subject.

Achievements

• Herrera's most prominent paintings include "The Last Judgment" and a "Holy Family", both in churches at Seville.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • St Bonaventure Enters the Franciscan Order

  • Multiplicación De Los Panes Y Los Peces

  • La Prédication De Saint Jean Baptiste

  • San Cosme O Autorretrato

  • St Bonaventura Receiving the Host from the Hands of An Angel

  • St Basil Dictating His Doctrine

  • Presentación De La Virgen En El Templo

  • St Joseph and the Christ Child

  • Saint Catherine Appearing to the Prisoners

  • Cabeza De Santo Degollado

  • La Curación De San Buenaventura Niño Por San Francisco

  • Der Besenbinder

  • The Holy Family

  • St Andrew

Personality

Francisco was notorious for his bad temper.

Interests

• Artists

  Francisco de Zurbarán, Anthony Van Dyck

Connections

Francisco had a son Francisco Herrera the Younger, also a noted painter.

Son:

Francisco Herrera the Younger

pupil:

Ignacio de Iriarte

pupil:

Diego Velázquez