Gaspar Becerra
Encyclopedia
Gaspar Becerra was a Spanish
painter and sculptor.
in Andalusia
. He studied at Rome
, it is said under Michelangelo
, and assisted Giorgio Vasari
in painting the hall of the Palazzo della Cancelleria
. He also contributed to the anatomical plates of Juan Valverde de Amusco
's Historia de la composicion del cuerpo humano (Rome, 1556). After his return to Spain he was extensively employed by Philip II
, and decorated many of the rooms in the palace at Madrid
with fresco
es. He also painted altar-pieces for several of the churches, most of which have been destroyed. His fame as a sculptor almost surpassed that as a painter. His best work was a magnificent figure of the Virgin Mary, which was destroyed during the French war. He became court painter at Madrid
in 1563, and played a prominent part in the establishment of the fine arts in Spain.
Among his pupils were Miguel Barroso
, who worked at Toledo in 1585, and, after becoming royal painter in 1589, painted some frescoes in the El Escorial; Bartolomé del Río Bernuís; Francisco López
and Jerónimo Vázquez.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
painter and sculptor.
Biography
He was born at BaezaBaeza
Baeza is a town of approximately 16,200 inhabitants in Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Jaén, perched on a cliff in the Loma de Baeza, a mountain range between the river Guadalquivir on the south and its tributary the Guadalimar on the north. It is chiefly known today as having many of the...
in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
. He studied at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, it is said under Michelangelo
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
, and assisted Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...
in painting the hall of the Palazzo della Cancelleria
Palazzo della Cancelleria
The Palazzo della Cancelleria is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rione of Parione...
. He also contributed to the anatomical plates of Juan Valverde de Amusco
Juan Valverde de Amusco
Juan Valverde de Amusco was born in the Kingdom of León in what is now Spain in about the year 1525 and studied medicine in Padua and Rome under Realdo Columbo and Bartolomeo Eustachi...
's Historia de la composicion del cuerpo humano (Rome, 1556). After his return to Spain he was extensively employed by Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, and decorated many of the rooms in the palace at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
with fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es. He also painted altar-pieces for several of the churches, most of which have been destroyed. His fame as a sculptor almost surpassed that as a painter. His best work was a magnificent figure of the Virgin Mary, which was destroyed during the French war. He became court painter at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
in 1563, and played a prominent part in the establishment of the fine arts in Spain.
Among his pupils were Miguel Barroso
Miguel Barroso
-Biography:Barroso was born at Consuegra in 1538.According to Palomino, he was a scholar of Gaspare Becerra, and distinguished himself as an architect, as well as a painter. He was employed by Philip II in the Escorial, where he painted, in the principal cloister, the Resurrection, Christ appearing...
, who worked at Toledo in 1585, and, after becoming royal painter in 1589, painted some frescoes in the El Escorial; Bartolomé del Río Bernuís; Francisco López
Francisco López
Francisco López or Francisco Lopez may refer to:*Francisco López 16th century, Spanish Renaissance painter*Francisco López , Spanish Renaissance painter*Francisco López Contreras , Guatemalan footballer...
and Jerónimo Vázquez.
External links
- Anatomical drawings by Becerra, from the Royal Academy of Arts
- Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine. Selected pages scanned from Juan Valverde de Amusco's Anatomia del corpo humano. (Rome, 1560).