| Considered one of the founders of Spanish baroque painting, Roelas was the leading artist in Seville during the first quarter of the seventeenth century. Roelas is credited with re-invigorating painting in Seville in the early part of that century. He may have studied in Italy before working with Vincencio Carducho* and Orazio Borgianni* in Valladolid between 1598 and 1602. His sense of color betrays an intensive study of Venetian painting and some of his figures have similarities to Venetian and Genoese baroque masters. Little of Roelas's work is known before 1597, when he signed a print of the Elevation of the Cross. In 1598 his name appears among the records of the citizens of Valladolid as a member of the clergy. He stayed on until 1603, when he accepted the position of chaplain at the Colegiata de Olivares. At the same time he was producing paintings for Seville, the neighboring town; by 1606 he moved there, having relinquished his clerical post. His Adoration of the Name of Jesus (dated 1604/5, Seville, University Chapel) shows Roelas's reliance on Genoese developments. Its careful symmetry and its rather deliberate contrasts of golden light and deep shadow reveal a youthful artist gradually gaining mastery over his medium, and a conservative painter responding to the traditional tastes of his patrons. Roelas's solutions to well-established conventions are considered more graceful and more lively than any produced in Seville before his arrival. During the decade after to his move to Olivares, Roelas maintained a leading position among painters at Seville, fulfilling most of the important commissions from the cathedral and nearby churches. His Death of St. Isidore (dated 1613), painted for the church of San Isidoro, is considered the finest surviving example of his brilliance at creating monumental altarpieces filled with numerous figures and incidental details. Equally impressive is his Martyrdom of St. Andrew (Seville, Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes), which demonstrates his mastery of figures and emotional expression. Here, the connection to the Bassani is particularly evident, although the source of his figure types remains open to question. His smaller, more intimate pictures are best exemplified by his Vision of St. Bernard (dated 1611, Seville, Hospital de San Bernardo). With its combination of mundane realism, religious spectacle, and humble piety, Roelas's picture is considered the quintessential expression of Andalusian devotional art of the period, which had a deep impact on younger painters such as Francisco de Zurbar&n. In 1617 Roelas attempted to find a position at court. Though his application failed, he remained in Madrid until 1621, whereupon he once more took up his position as chaplain at the Colegiata de Olivares. He died there in 1625. Roelas's stylistic origins still remain a matter of conjecture and debate. Some scholars link him with Italian artists working at the Escorial in the 1580s. More recent theories take him on a trip to Italy with a stay in Venice, connecting him with Lorenzo Lotto, the Bassani, Veronese, and Correggio. Others suggest a visit to Naples, where painters like Girolamo Imperato and Lulgi Rodriguez may have inspired him. Still others try to create a Genoese connection. |
