Herrera el Mozo y el Barroco total

Abstract

Francisco de Herrera el Mozo (Seville, 1627-Madrid, 1685), son of Francisco de Herrera el Viejo, with whom he trained during his early years in his native city, is one of the most representative artists of the Spanish Baroque period. His great artistic versatility, which he displayed in various fields such as drawing, engraving, oil and fresco painting, scenography, architecture and engineering, leads us to refer to him as a total artist. During his lifetime he enjoyed enormous fame for the singular and innovative nature of his work, the undoubted quality of which led him to attain the posts of painter to the king and master builder of Royal Works, but also to arouse both the admiration and envy of his contemporaries. However, his strong character, the incomprehension of Enlightenment critics and the fact that some of his work has been preserved in poor condition or has not even survived to the present day - such as his mural painting - have contributed to the scant knowledge of his figure in the present day.