Francisco Herrera the Elder

Francisco de Herrera the Elder ( * 1576 in Seville, † 1656 in Madrid, also Francisco Herrera ) was a Spanish painter who was based in Seville.

Seville was greater to Herrera lifetime of the population terms as Madrid and of great influence on the Spanish art work. The resident in Seville Malerwerkstätten supplied not only the churches and convents of Seville and its wider surroundings with paintings, but also the emerging churches and monasteries in Argentina, Mexico and Peru. At the workshops, which provided these paintings, the Herrera counted. Herrera belonged to the head of the Sevillian school of painting and created among others the decorations of the episcopal palace. He is a technically brilliant painter. His religious paintings and folk genre scenes are characterized by a fluid brushwork and a high degree of expressivity.

Herrera 's art history especially important because he was the teacher of Diego Velázquez Lord for a few months. Diego Velázquez came as close to 10 - or eleven years in his workshop one. However, he moved very quickly to the workshop of Francisco Pacheco, since he did not get along with Herrera's spirited nature. He was also a family connected with Juan van der Hamen y León by his marriage to Eugenia de Herrera Barnuevo and appeared as one of three character witnesses, when he applied for the wedding.

Herrera's son, Francisco Herrera the Younger, was also a painter and architect.