Antonio de Pereda

Spanish, (1611 - 1678).

The outstanding still-life artist of his generation. Pereda was the eldest son in a family of artists, with father, two brothers and even his mother painters. He was educated in Madrid by Pedro de las Cuevas (c. 1583-1644) and had the protection of the powerful and influential Giovanni Battista Crescenzi, but at the death of Crescenzi in 1635 court politics expelled Pereda, and he turned to building a career as a painter on contract to religious institutions. He also continued to paint still lifes, and by his skill and emphasis of this-worldly realism and sensuality, created some of the finest still lifes of the Baroque era.

Vanitas

Vanitas.

Oil on canvas, 54 7/8 x 68 1/2 inches. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Vienna.

Still Life with Fruits

Still Life with Fruits.

Oil on canvas, 1650, 29 1/2 x 56 1/4 inches. Museo Nacional d'Arte Antiga, Lisbon

Spanish Still Life Painters