Claudio Coello (2 March 1642 – 20 April 1693) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Coello is considered the last great Spanish painter of the 17th century. The son of Faustino Coello, a famous Portuguese

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, he was a

court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

for Charles II. He worked on many churches and public buildings in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, with his most famous work being in the sacristy of

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

, which is filled with portraits of priests and courtiers.

Life and work

Claudio Coello was of Portuguese parents, but was born at Madrid in 1642. He was there instructed in the art by

Francisco Rizi Francisco Rizi, or Francisco Ricci de Guevara (9 April 1614 – 2 August 1685) was a Spanish painter of Italian ancestry. Biography He was born in Madrid. His father, Antonio Ricci, was an Italian painter, originally from Ancona, who had co ...

, and executed while yet in that school an altar-piece for San Plácido at Madrid. His acquaintance with the court painter,

Juan Carreño de Miranda Juan Carreño de Miranda (25 March 1614 — 3 October 1685) was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period. Biography Born in Avilés in Asturias, son of a painter with the same name, Juan Carreño de Miranda. His family moved to Madrid in 1623, ...

, procured him the permission to visit the royal collection, where he made his greatest advance by studying the works of

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

, Rubens, and

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

. His friendship with

José Jiménez Donoso José Jiménez Donoso (c.1632, Consuegra - 14 September 1690, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque architect and painter. He decorated many of his own buildings, using the Italian technique of quadratura. Life and work He learned the rudiments of a ...

, under whom he studied at Rome, was not less advantageous for him. In conjunction with that artist he painted frescoes at Madrid and Toledo, and executed the

Triumphal Arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cro ...

for the entrance of the Queen, Maria Louisa of Orleans. By these paintings he became well known, and was employed by the Archbishop of Saragossa in 1683. He was made painter to Charles II, by whom he was employed in the

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up ...

.Coello was the last Spanish painter of eminence for some years, as from the time that

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Earl ...

was summoned to Spain, the art sank gradually to its decay. Many excellent examples of his work are to be seen in the churches and convents in Madrid,

Saragossa Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributar ...

, and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

. But his principal work is the famous altar-piece in the sacristy of San Lorenzo, in the Escorial, representing the 'Adoration of the Miraculous Host.' It is an immense composition, and occupied the painter seven years. In the crowd of personages that form the procession, are no less than fifty portraits, including those of the king and the principal persons of the court: it is painted with the utmost precision, yet in a bold and masterly style, and there is a majestic solemnity in the arrangement of the whole, which suits well to the grandeur of the subject. It is a very extraordinary performance, and holds its place even by the side of the works of Titian and Rubens. The preference which was given to Luca Giordano, who came to Madrid in 1692, in painting the grand staircase in the Escorial, mortified Coello so much that he died of vexation at Madrid in 1693. Coello etched three plates, viz. : — 'Christ on the Cross, with the Virgin, St. Augustine, and St. Monica,' and the portraits of Charles II and

his Mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...

. He was the instructor of

Sebastián Muñoz Juan Sebastián Muñoz (born 4 January 1993) is a Colombian professional golfer. He played predominantly on the PGA Tour, where he had one tournament victory, the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2019, prior to joining LIV Golf in 2023. Career ...

and Teodoro Ardmans.

Selected works

* Budapest Gallery. ''St. Joseph with the Virgin and Child.'' *Madrid. S. Placido. An altar-piece. *Madrid, Palace.

Cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

, representing the ''Fable of Cupid and Psyche'', painted by Ant. Palomino. *Madrid,

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

. ''Assumption of the Virgin'' (Two), ''Portrait of Charles II. of Spain'', ''St. Rosa of Lima'', and ''The Apotheosis of St. Augustin''. * Munich. Gallery. ''St. Peter of Alcantara''. * Petersburg. Hermitage. ''His own Portrait'' and ''The Magdalen''. *Saragossa. Augustinian Church. The frescoes in the cupola. *Madrid (province).

. ''The Adoration of the Host''. (His chef-d'oeuvre.) *Saint Catherine of Alexandria Dominating the Emperor Maxentius

Gallery

File:Claudio coello-anunciacion.jpg, ''The Annunciation'' (1668) File:Claudio coello-jesus niño-prado.jpg, ''Boy Jesus at the Door of the Temple'' (1660) File:Claudio Coello - Holy Family - WGA5131.jpg, ''Holy Family'' File:Claudio coello-inmaculada-prado.jpg, ''The Immaculate Conception'' File:Claudio coello-san antonio de padua.jpg, ''Saint Anthony of Padua'' File:Sta Rosa de Lima por Claudio Coello.jpg, ''Saint Rose of Lima'' File:Claudio Coello - Saint Michael the Archangel - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Saint Michael the Archangel'' File:Triunfo de San Agustín.jpg, ''The Triumph of

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

'' File:SaintDominic.jpg, ''Saint Dominic de Guzmán'' (1685) File:Claudio Coello-la virgen el niño virtudes teologales-prado.jpg, ''The Virgin with the Child between the

Theological Virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they hav ...

and Saints'' (1669)

References

External links

Claudio Coello on Artcyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coello, Claudio 1642 births 1693 deaths Spanish Baroque painters 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Spanish people of Portuguese descent Artists from Madrid Court painters Catholic painters