Andrés Amaya ( - 29 October 1704) was a Spanish Baroque painter in oils of religious subjects. He was active in the region of Castile and León, primarily in the city of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

Biography

Nothing is known about Amaya's origins and background, and little about his life and career. One modern Spanish source describes his life and activity as ''cubierta por una enorme bruma'' ("covered by an enormous mist"). The best that can be said is, that the surname " Amaya" is associated with the small village of Amaya in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

, Castile and León. Few of his paintings are dated, which makes it difficult to establish a chronology. Most of his works are on religious subjects, but he is said to have also painted portraits. His surviving works are scattered in and around Valladolid. According to Spanish art historian Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez (1749-1829), Amaya was a disciple of

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 ...

(1576/78–1638). Amaya cannot have been Carducho's pupil, because their dates do not overlap. It is possible that Amaya knew or was influenced by later Spanish painters of the Madrid high Baroque school, such as (after 1630 - 1677) and Francisco de Solís ( - 1684), and the

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 ...

s of the time. He has also been said to have been influenced by

Alonzo Cano Alonso Cano Almansa or Alonzo Cano (19 March 16013 September 1667) was a Spanish painter, architect, and sculptor born in Granada.

Critical reception

Ceán Bermúdez said of Amaya, "''tienen mejor gusto de color que correccion en el dibuxo''" ("he had better taste in colour than in correctness of drawing"). The one authority cited by Ceán Bermúdez was

Antonio Ponz Antonio Ponz Piquer (1725 – 4 December 1792) was a Spanish painter. He was born at Bejís in the province of Castellón. He was a pupil of Antonio Richarte at Valencia, then in 1746 moved to Madrid, where he studied for five years. He then w ...

(1725–1792), who may only have known Amaya's altarpiece at . Spanish art historian (1935-2010) had a more generous opinion. So had the anonymous author who wrote for the Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid in 2001, "''Fue artista bien preparada para la composición, mostrando gran habilidad en la angrupación y relación de las figuras''" ("He was a masterful artist in composition, showing great skill in the grouping and relationship of people").

Works

These works have been attributed to Amaya: * 1682''Pinturas del retablo mayor'' ("paintings at the main altar"), * 1693''San Francisco y Santa Teresa'' (" St Francis and St Teresa"), * ''La Virgen apareciéndose a Fernando III el Santo'' ("The

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

appears to Fernando III the Saint"), Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid * Last third of 17th century''Apparizione della Vergine ad un domenicano di Soriano'' (" The Virgin appears to a Dominican in Soriano"), Museo Nacional de Escultura, * ''Sagrada Familia'' (" The Holy Family"), Iglesia Penitencial de la Vera Cruz, Valladolid * ''San Joaquín'' ("

St Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

"), * Unknown date''San José con el Niño'' (" St Joseph and the Christ Child"),

Valladolid Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Holy Assumption ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), better known as Valladolid Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church in Valladolid, Spain. The main layout was designed by Juan de Herrera in a Renai ...

It is unclear whether the paintings in Valladolid Cathedral and the Museo Nacional are the same or different. * Unknown date''San José con el Niño'' ("St Joseph and the Christ Child"), Museo Nacional de Escultura, Valladolid * Unknown date''Serie de lienzos sobre la vida de San Juan Bautista'' ("series of paintings on the life of

St John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

"), Basílica de San Isidoro, León * Unknown dateunknown subject, * Unknown dateunknown subject,The corresponding article in

Spanish Wikipedia The Spanish Wikipedia ( es, Wikipedia en español) is a Spanish-language edition of Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia. It has articles. Started in May 2001, it reached 100,000 articles on March 8, 2006 and 1,000,000 articles on May 16, 2013 ...

says ''Desposorios místicos de santa Gertrudis y san Antonio Abad'' ("The mystical betrothals of Saint Gertrude and Saint Anthony Abbot"), but does not cite any source. San Millán de la Cogolla * Unknown dateunknown subject,

Toro, Zamora Toro is a town and municipality in the province of Zamora, part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is located on a fertile high plain, northwest of Madrid at an elevation of . Toro is known as a center of Mudéjar art ...

* Unknown dateunknown subject,

Villafranca del Bierzo 250px, Castle of Villafranca. Villafranca del Bierzo is a village and municipality located in the comarca of El Bierzo, in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. Villafranca del Bierzo lies 187 kilometers from Santiago de Compostela and ...

Gallery

File:Virgen apareciéndose a Fernando III el Santo.jpg, ''La Virgen apareciéndose a Fernando III el Santo'' () File:Andres amaya-santo domingo en soriano.JPG, ''Apparizione della Vergine ad un domenicano di Soriano'' (last third of 17th century) File:Amaya-san jose.JPG, ''San José con el Niño'' (), Museo Nacional de Escultura File:San Francisco y Santa Teresa (Amaya).jpeg, ''San Francisco y Santa Teresa'' (1693) File:Sagrada Familia (Amaya).jpeg, ''Sagrada Familia'' ()

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amaya, Andres Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 1704 deaths People from Valladolid 17th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Painters from Castile and León Spanish Baroque painters Religious painters