Herrera, Francisco de

Herrera, Francisco de (fränthēs`kō thā ārā`rä), c.1576–1656, Spanish painter, engraver, miniaturist, and draftsman. He worked in Seville most of his life, executing religious and genre subjects. His style is broad and dynamic, with powerful accents of light and dark and expressive distortions. Herrera's most famous works are the Triumph of St. Hermengild (Seville) and St. Basil Dictating His Rule (c.1639; Louvre). From 1640 until his death he worked in Madrid. His son,

Francisco de Herrera, the younger, 1622–85, studied still-life painting in Naples. Returning to Seville in 1656, he executed religious works. His masterpieces, the Triumph of St. Hermengild (Prado) and the Triumph of St. Francis (Seville Cathedral), both of the 1660s, show his loose and sketchy technique and bright, warm colors. In 1677 he became Charles II's court painter and master of royal works, designing architectural plans, including one, never executed, for the cathedral at Zaragoza.

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Herrera, Francisco de 

(the Elder; Spanish, el Viejo). Born 1576 in Sevilla; died 1656 in Madrid. Spanish painter.

A leading member of the Sevilla school, Herrera moved to Madrid in 1650. He studied Italian art, particularly the Venetian painters, and went on to become the first teacher of D. Velaz quez. At the height of his career, Herrera produced religious paintings that were striking in their realistic representations of people. His works are marked by a broad range of style and by skillful rendering of chiaroscuro. Notable examples of his artistry are the paintings from the life of St. Bonaventure that were com missioned by the Franciscan convent in Sevilla (1629) and the painting Saint Basil Preaching His Doctrine (1639, Louvre, Paris). Herrera also produced genre paintings, engravings, and medals.