Vicente Carducho

1576 – 1638

Vicente Carducho was a Spanish painter and writer on art. He was a Florentine by birth (his name was originally Vincenzo Carducci), but he settled in Spain when he was 9, when his elder brother, Bartolomé Carducho (originally Bartolommeo Carducci, c.1560-1608), went to the Escorial in 1585 as assistant to Federico Zuccaro. Vincente was appointed a court painter in Madrid in 1609, and had a successful and prolific career, but he is now remembered mainly for his book Dialogos de la Pintura (1633). In this he defended the heroic Italian tradition (championing Michelangelo in particular), and excoriated the naturalism of Caravaggio. In a sense this was an attack on Velázquez, who had completely eclipsed Carducho at court. Bartolomé Carducho (1554-1608) also had a successful career in Spain, becoming a court painter in 1598 and working on royal commissions in Madrid, Segovia, and Valladolid. He painted in oils and fresco, and was influential in introducing Italian ideas to Spain.

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