Friar Juan Andrés Ricci de Guevara, known as Friar Juan Rizi (1600,

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 ...

- 29 November 1681,

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

) was a Spanish

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk, painter, and architect, in 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. He also wrote works on theology and geometry and may have been nominated to become a bishop.

Life and works

He was the son of the Italian painter, Antonio Ricci, who had come to Spain to work on decorations for

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,

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 ...

, was also a painter. He appears to have begun his apprenticeship with his father, but he is known to have attended the workshops of

Juan Bautista Maíno Friar Juan Bautista Maíno, or Mayno (October 1581, Pastrana – 1 April 1649, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Biography His father was a merchant who sold Milanese fabrics and his mother was a Portuguese noblewoman. Both were at th ...

as well. In 1627, he joined the Benedictine Order and took up residence at

Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey Santa Maria de Montserrat () is an abbey of the Order of Saint Benedict located on the mountain of Montserrat in Monistrol de Montserrat, Catalonia, Spain. It is notable for enshrining the image of the Virgin of Montserrat. The monastery was fou ...

and apparently studied law at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca ( es, Universidad de Salamanca) is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the city of Salamanca, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It was founded in 1218 by King Alfonso IX. It is th ...

. He was expelled from the Abbey in 1640, due to his strong advocacy of

Castilian nationalism Castilian nationalism or "Castilianism" ( es, castellanismo, links=no) is a fringe political movement that advocates for the national recognition of Castile, and in some cases, its independence from Spain. History The 19th century saw the dev ...

during the

Reapers' War The Reapers' War ( ca, Guerra dels Segadors, , es, Guerra de los Segadores), also known as the Catalan Revolt, was a conflict that affected a large part of the Principality of Catalonia between the years of 1640 and 1659. It had an enduring ef ...

. Later, he was removed from the court of Prince

Balthasar Charles Balthasar Charles (17 October 1629 – 9 October 1646), Prince of Asturias, Prince of Girona, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera, and Lord of Balaguer, Prince of Viana was heir apparent to all the kingdoms, states and dominions of the ...

, where he was employed as a drawing teacher, for opposing the appointment of a new Abbott made by King

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

. After leaving the court, most of his work was done for the various monasteries where he lived: Irache,

Santo Domingo de Silos Santo Domingo de Silos is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 292 inhabitants. The village is preserved by the heritage l ...

, and

San Millán de la Cogolla San Millán de la Cogolla () is a sparsely populated municipality in La Rioja, (Spain). The village is famous for its twin monasteries, Yuso and Suso (Monasterio de San Millán de Yuso and Monasterio de San Millán de Suso), which were declared a ...

, among others. Most of those he painted at Montserrat were lost in a fire during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. In 1662, he moved to Rome and, in 1670, became a resident of Monte Cassino, where he died.

Sources

Biography
in the Enciclopedia online @ the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Biography
@ ''L'Enciclopèdia.cat''. Barcelona:

Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana Grup may refer to: * Grup Gerak Khas, a special forces regiment of the Malaysian Army * ADD Grup, a developer and manufacturer of smart metering solutions * Transferoviar Grup, a private railway company in Romania * Grup, a term for grown-ups Star ...

External links

1600 births 1681 deaths Artists from Madrid 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Spanish Baroque painters Catholic painters Architects of Roman Catholic churches 17th-century Spanish architects {{Spain-painter-stub