The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine

religious

After his return to Madrid around 1660, Cerezo's development was rapid as a religious painter and as one of the most appealing still-life artist of the period. These abilities are already evident in his Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, where the bright colours, sparkling textures, and harmonious composition show his precocious talent.

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About the Artist

Mateo the Younger Cerezo

1637 – 1666

Spanish painter. He first trained with his father, Mateo Cerezo the Elder, a painter of devotional images, and then completed his training in Madrid, where he arrived c. 1654. He is said to have studied with Juan Carreo de Miranda or possibly with Antonio de Pereda. Between 1656 and 1659 Cerezo worked in Valladolid and Burgos, returning permanently to Madrid c. 1660. His short career showed a precocious talent, and he rapidly absorbed the techniques of Carreo and of such contemporary painters as Francisco de Herrera the Younger. He was inspired by Titian and the refined elegance of Anthony van Dyck, and his varied, warm palette made him one of the most sensitive and refined colourists of the late Madrid school.

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