BiographyA
Spanish painter, active mainly in Madrid. He began as a history painter - his Relief
of Genoa (Prado, Madrid, 1635) was painted for the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid as
part of the same series as Velázquez's Surrender of Breda - but he is now
best known for his still-lifes. The most famous painting associated with him is The
Knight's Dream (also called The Dream of Life or Life is a Dream, Academy, Madrid,
c. 1650), a splendidly sensuous composition, full of brilliantly painted still-life
details, in which worldly pleasures and treasures are seen to be as insubstantial
as a dream. It was a key work in the development of the moralizing still-life in
Spain, influencing Valdés Leal in particular. However, the attribution to
Pereda has recently been questioned, and Francisco de Palacios (1622/5-52) has been
suggested as the author. |