Juan de las Roelas

Juan de Ruela (also Juan de Roelas or Juan de las Roelas, * about 1570 in Flanders, † April 23, 1625 in Olivares at Seville ) was a native of Flanders painter. He was - as far as his career is documented - working in Spain, where he played an important role in the transition from Mannerism to the Baroque.

Life

The news about the life of Juan de Ruela are sparse and / or uncertain. Many existing to date assumptions about his biography, the birthplace of Seville included were refuted in 2000, as María Antonia Fernández del Hoyo, a Spanish art historian, proved that his early biographers confused the painter with a contemporary, born in Seville Carmelites of the same name had. From authentic instruments, they determined that the painter Juan de Ruela not from Seville, but from Flanders. With the elucidation of the confusion accounted for a large part of the " knowledge" to the biography of the artist; the few references in the sources make it hard to trace his life.

It is known that Juan de Ruela in Valladolid was involved in the commemoration of the death of King Philip II of Spain in 1598 and that he worked on the design of the grave monument. He remained until 1604 in Valladolid, when he received by Gaspar de Guzman, Count of Olivares, or of its father, Enrique de Guzmán, a benefice or a mercy letter ( favor). At the headquarters of this family, in the town of Olivares at Seville, painted de Ruela several large altarpieces for churches in Olivares and for churches in and around Seville. Apparently changed de Ruela later from Andalusia to Madrid, in the hope of there to get a job as a court painter. When that effort failed, he returned to Olivares, where he died in 1625.

Art -historical importance

Juan de Ruela is considered a key figure in the development of painting in Seville, especially in the years before the appearance of Zurbarán, Cano, Herrera, de Castillo, Murillo and Leal.

The latter two artists were influenced by de Ruela frequently, both in terms of motives, image composition as the painting technique. Basic was the way he had the naturalism of the early Spanish Baroque painting the way when he wove about scenes of everyday life in his paintings on biblical stories and legends of the saints. This link between the religious and the commonplace was a hallmark of the Sevillian school of painting and found its fulfillment in the work of Murillo.

Major works (selection)

  • An altar with the Holy Family, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi in the University Church of Seville
  • The Apostle James in the Battle of Clavijo in the Cathedral of Seville
  • The death of St. Isidore in the church of San Isidoro of Seville

Allegory of the Immaculate Conception

The hl. Benedict

Pentecost

Spanish Netherlands Alonzo Cano Juan del Castillo Seville Cathedral Benedict of Nursia Integrated Authority File
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