Francisco Herrera the Younger ("el Mozo"; 1622 – 25 August 1685) was a Spanish painter and architect.

Life

Herera mozo San Antonio de Padua 1660-1670

Born in Seville, he was the second son of Francisco Herrera the Elder ("el Viejo"), and began his career under his father's instruction; but the father's violent temper at last became so intolerable that the youth fled to Rome. For six years the younger Herrera devoted himself to the study of architecture, perspective, and the antique, his aim being fresco painting. He excelled in

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

. He already painted '' bodegones'', fish so cleverly done that the Romans called him ''lo Spagnuolo dei pesci'' ("the Spaniard of the Fish"). In 1656 he returned to Seville, founded the

Seville Academy Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Gua ...

, and in 1660 became its sub-director under

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporar ...

. He is said to have been vain, suspicious, hot-tempered, and jealous; at any rate he resented his subordinate post and went to Madrid about 1661 (Cean Bermúdez). Before leaving his native city he painted two large pictures for the cathedral and a "St. Francis" for the chapel of this saint. Edmund Walker Head declares the latter to be his masterpiece. In Madrid he painted a great ''Triumph of St. Hermengild'' for the church of the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

friars, and a group of frescoes in San Felipe el Real which was appreciated by Philip IV of Spain, who commissioned him the painting of the dome of the chapel of Our Lady of Atocha, and thereafter made him painter to the king and superintendent of royal buildings. Besides his work in still life he painted many portraits, and while these lacked the vigour which characterized his father's work, they exhibit a greater knowledge and use of '' chiaroscuro''. Charles II of Spain kept him at his Court and made him master of the royal works. For this king Herrera renovated the

Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar :''See Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar (Buenos Aires) for the church in Buenos Aires'' The Cathedral-Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar ( es, Catedral-Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza ...

, in Zaragoza. Herrera died at Madrid in 1685.

References

Scholarly articles
in English about Francisco Herrera, El Mozo both in web an
PDF
@ th
Spanish Old Masters Gallery
;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Francisco 1622 births 1685 deaths People from Seville 17th-century Spanish painters 17th-century Spanish architects Spanish male painters Spanish architects Catholic painters