Artist

Francisco Herrera, El Mozo

(Seville, 1627-Madrid, 1685)

Francisco Herrera el Mozo [the Younger] was born in Seville in 1627. He initially trained with his father, the painter Francisco Herrera the Elder (c.1590-1654), from whom he learned the rudiments of painting. In 1649 he moved to Rome to further his studies. The exact date of Herrera’s return to Spain is not known but he was present in Madrid in 1654 when he signed the contract for the paintings for the main altarpiece of the Convent of the Barefoot Carmelites. He subsequently returned to Seville where in 1656 he painted The Triumph of the Sacrament (Seville Cathedral) and founded the Academia Sevillana with Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. In 1663 he was summoned to Madrid by Philip IV to paint the (now lost) frescoes for the church of Nuestra Señora de Atocha. From that point on he attempted to obtain the position of Painter to the King, finally succeeding in 1672 and subsequently rising to further posts within the palace system. In 1674 Herrera designed the Hospital de Montserrat in Madrid, while between 1680 and 1682 he lived in Saragossa. Herrera died in Madrid in 1685.