Juan de Alfaro y Gámez (Córdoba, 1643 - Madrid, 1680) was a Spanish Baroque painter whose work is divided between his native Córdoba and the royal court in Madrid. Born into a family of minor nobility, the son of an apothecary, he trained in Córdoba under Antonio del Castillo. Before turning twenty he was sent to Madrid with letters of recommendation to work under Velázquez, arriving there by 1660 at the latest.
His main historical interest lies in that closeness to the Sevillian master. He sketched Velázquez after his death, laid out in his Order of Santiago habit, and he also wrote a biography of him that was lost, although Palomino drew on it for his own. In Madrid he developed a taste for Van Dyck, and he later brought the Flemish painter's innovations back to Córdoba. There he painted the series of bishops' portraits for the Galería de los Obispos in the episcopal palace, along with religious works such as the Nativity of Saint Francis, now in the Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba. His handling is fluid and light, almost sketch-like in the figures. He is remembered above all for his link to Velázquez rather than for his artistic stature.
Works (1)
Painted in 1662 by Juan de Alfaro y Gámez, this canvas depicts the birth of Francis of Assisi, a central subject of religious art. According to the sources, the Franciscans of the convent of San Pedro el Real in Córdoba commissioned it as the opening work of a cycle on the saint's life. After the Mendizábal disentailment it moved to the convent of Santa Cruz, and today it hangs in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Córdoba, within the Córdoba school of painting.
Where to see the work
- Museum of Fine Arts of Córdoba Córdoba · 1