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 Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

, who had come to Spain in 1583 to do decorative work at

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 ...

. His brother,

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, also became a painter. After beginning his apprenticeship in his father's workshop, he studied with

Vicente Carducho Vincenzio Carduccio (in Spanish, sometimes ''Vicencio'' or Vicente Carducho; 1576 or 1578–1638) was an Italian painter who spent his career in Spain. Biography He was born in Florence, and was trained as a painter by his brother Ba ...

, who was also of Italian origin. Thanks to Carducho's influence, he was able to make contacts at the Royal Court in 1634. After Carducho's death in 1638, he joined with several other painters to create decorations for the Golden Salon at the

Royal Alcázar of Madrid The Royal Alcázar of Madrid (Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisi ...

. These were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1734. Between 1640 and 1649, he became one of the earliest painters in Spain to adopt the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style. A notable example is the large altarpiece made for the

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars *Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters *Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...

, in a style reminiscent of

Pieter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

Anthony 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 c ...

. In 1649, he provided decorations to celebrate the arrival of

Mariana of Austria Mariana of Austria ( es, Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 163416 May 1696) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. ...

, to become Queen, which brought him to the attention of the Court. He also maintained close ties to

Toledo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

, creating numerous canvases and

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es; notably for the famous "Chapel of the Eighths" (the Ochavo). In 1653, he was named the official "Painter of the Cathedral", and would retain that position until his death.Biography
@ the Museo del Prado In 1656, he was officially named a "Painter to the King". This began a large series of commissions from religious institutions that would keep him occupied throughout the 60s. He also opened a workshop where artists such as

Claudio Coello 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, he was a court painter for Char ...

received their first training. For many of these years, and into the 70s, he was the Director of stage decorations at the theater in

Buen Retiro Palace Buen Retiro Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio del Buen Retiro'') in Madrid was a large palace complex designed by the architect Alonso Carbonell (c. 1590–1660) and built on the orders of Philip IV of Spain as a secondary residence and place of recrea ...

. In 1661, he was granted permission to live in the Royal Alcázar. In 1671, he was passed over for an appointment as Chamber Painter to Queen Mariana. The post went to

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, ...

and, two years later, he filed a formal grievance, citing his seniority. In 1675, the Queen granted him a small pension, but his standing at court never fully recovered. He continued in good standing with religious authorities, however. In 1685, he received a major commission for a monumental canvas at El Escorial, depicting the "Holy Form". He died suddenly while working on it there. It was finished by his student, Coello.

Selected works

* Decoration (together with Pedro Nuñez) at the theatre in the Real Alcázar of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

(1648). * Scenery for the theatre of the

Parque del Buen Retiro The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...

. * Sketch for the altarpiece of the Host of Gorkum (the paintings for which were later completed by

) in the Sacristy of El Escorial. * "

Auto de Fé Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), ...

en la plaza Mayor de Madrid".museodelprado.es: "Auto de Fe en la plaza Mayor de Madrid": 1683, óleo sobre lienzo, 277 x 438 cm.
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References

Bibliography

Antonio Palomino Acislo Antonio Palomino de Castro y Velasco (165513 April 1726) was a Spanish painter of the Baroque period, and a writer on art, author of ''El Museo pictórico y escala óptica'', which contains a large amount of important biographical mate ...

, ''

An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects ''An account of the lives and works of the most eminent Spanish painters, sculptors and architects'' is a book written by the Spanish painter Antonio Palomino and dedicated to the biographies of the most eminent artists who worked in Spain during t ...

'', 1724, first English translation, 1739, p. 112 *

External links

Biography
@

Web Gallery of Art The Web Gallery of Art (WGA) is a virtual art gallery website. It displays historic European visual art, mainly from the Baroque, Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance periods, available for educational and personal use. Overview The website contain ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizi, Francisco 1608 births 1685 deaths Artists from Madrid 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Spanish Baroque painters Catholic painters