Herrera el Mozo, the controversial and ingenious artist who was ignored by Velázquez

Although this exhibition has an important research aspect, which will be valued by specialists, there is another aspect, without a doubt, “for all audiences”. The first has to do with better knowledge of a painter who went from being acclaimed and envied in equal measure, to forgotten and confused (many of his works were misattributed for centuries).

Herrera el Mozo (this term was used in our Golden Age to distinguish a son from a father with the same name) enjoyed an enormous reputation in his lifetime, mainly as the author of frescoes (which were not preserved)but also as a painter. In documents from the time, he is described -and Murillo lived- as the most famous painter in Seville. He was early in awarding some important orders (which he disliked) and was a decisive influence on Carreño de Miranda and Claudio Coello. He also painted canvases and was an engraver, architect, set designer, designer of ephemeral architecture, tombs, tapestries and luxury objects. The allusion to “total baroque” is due to this polyhedral activity.

He was controversial, scathing and insightful, as his contemporary Palomino wrote. Well aware of his capabilities, he had no problem letting his colleagues know. He said of his San Hermenegildo that it was a work so well finished “that it deserved to be decorated with horns and timpani”. He had the support of noble people, such as Queen Mariana of Austria (wife of Charles II) and held important positions as surveyor of the Royal Works. He also interacted with the intellectual circles of his time (his friend Calderón de la Barca wrote a memorandum in support of “inventive” architects, directly in his defense). And he was also rigorously ignored by some geniuses of his time (Velázquez himself, whose position at court he sought).

Herrera el Mozo was rigorously ignored by Velázquez himself, whose position at court he sought

Francisco de Herrera el Mozo (Seville, 1627-Madrid, 1685) began his training as a painter at the hands of his father, an excellent draftsman and engraver, who instructed him in mastery of line. But his artistic personality would be forged in Italy, where he was between 1648 and 1653 (this was the little-known period of his career) and assimilated the magnificent baroque records of Bernini and Pietro da Cortona. With this backdrop, Herrera added temperature and color to his compositions. After his return to Spain he lived between Madrid and Seville, for whose temples he painted profusely.

This exhibition brings together the most important aspects of his production and it is worth highlighting the formidable task of restoring some paintings, whose catastrophic original state we can see in the catalog and which are now simply visible again.

When I said at the beginning that the show is interesting to anyone, I was thinking about two aspects. The most obvious is that it allows you to contemplate works that perfectly embody the clichés of Baroque painting: hyperbolic, colorful, with gesturing figures and exemplary scenes. The other aspect is the possibility of playing to discover the similarities and differences between the drawings of Herrera el Viejo and el Mozo, or between the preparatory drawings for this and its corresponding canvases. Finally, train your gaze, because no one ever teaches us how to look.

In documents from the time it is described, and Murillo lived, as the most famous painter in Seville

I don't want to fail to comment on any of the paintings, they are certainly impressive. He said Triumph of Saint Hermenegildo (1654), a majestic whirlwind of shapes that lifts the saint to heaven, leaving his own father, the heretic Leovigildo, on the ground. The Triumph of the Sacrament of the Eucharist (1656) is a panoramic scene of Glory, which the Church Fathers admire in a strong contrast of darkness. But maybe the star of the show is wonderful fish sellerpainted in Italy in 1650. The eloquent sobriety of the scene and the unforgettable face of the seller are worth the visit.

[Guido Reni and divine bodies: anatomy lecture on the Prado]

Deserves special mention the reconstruction of the scenarios that Herrera created for jealousy makes starsby Juan Vélez de Guevara, the oldest zarzuela whose music has been preserved, premiered in 1673 in the theater that once existed in the Alcázar of Madrid. For the occasion, a careful model was made that allows us to see in detail the equipment of the time and whose interest in the history of theater goes beyond this exhibition.

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