Portrait of Diego de Villamayor

portrait

Pantoja de la Cruz was familiar with the work of Venetian painters, but he took from them only the impressive pose of the formal portrait and avoided the expression of feelings and emotions. The main element in this portrait of a prominent aristocrat is the armour, which allows us to judge the skill and style of Spanish armourers, who found inspiration in Moorish ornament.

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About the Artist

Juan Pantoja De La Cruz

1553 – 1608

Spanish painter, pupil and successor of Sanchez Coello, becoming court painter to Philip III in 1596. His official portraits are flat and hieratic, but his religious works show the influence of Italian Caravaggismo. There are works in the Escorial and Madrid and in several other museums. He also painted the retable for the monastery church of St Augustine, Valladolid.

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