Artist

Romulo Cincinato

(Florence, c. 1540-Madrid, c. 1597)

Cincinato was born in Florence about 1540, trained with Francisco Salviati, and possibly also in the workshop of Taddeo Zuccaro. He arrived in Spain in 1567, and began to work for Phillip II, first under the direction of Gaspar Becerra for the decorative murals of the Pardo and Valsain, and after his death, he moved to the Alcazar of Madrid under the direction of Giovanni Battista Castello, il Bergamasco. After the death of Castello in 1569 Cincinato and Cajés were in charge of the decorations of the palace. This will lead Phillip II to commission Cincinato between 1570 and 1571 the fresco paintings for the temporary sacristy of El Escorial. His success from these works opened doors outside of the court, as in Cuenca where he was commissioned the paintings of the major altarpiece in the Church of the Jesuits and in Guadalajara the fresco painting to decorate the Palace of the Duke of the Infantado. In 1582 Phillip II once again requests that he works in El Escorial; first he is commissioned with a new version of El Greco´s painting, the Martyrdom of Saint Maurice and the Theban Legion, which the king was not satisfied with, and later he worked on various decorations for the Monastery, among them the two major reliquary altarpieces in the lower cloister of the Evangelists.