Famous 16th Century Spanish Artists & Painters

Spanish painter Juan Sánchez Cotán is regarded as one of the pioneers of Baroque realism. He is best known for his still lifes, also known as bodegones, which showed a signature illusion of depth and volume using light and shadow. His subjects ranged from fruits and vegetables to birds.

Best known for his Arte de la pintura, the most crucial treatise of 17th-century Spanish art, Francisco Pacheco focused on the regulations of depicting religious scenes accurately. He was also the official censor of the Inquisition of Sevilla. He also taught painting to Diego Velázquez and Alonso Cano.

Flemish painter Juan de Flandes, or John of Flanders, was first documented as the official painter of Queen Isabella of Castile and León. His original name is not known, but his works were the hallmark of the Early Netherlandish style, replete with rich colors, landscape, and detailed narratives.

A pioneer of Spanish portrait painting and a major figure of the Spanish Renaissance, Alonso Sánchez Coello was born in Valencia but spent his initial years in Portugal with his grandfather, following his father’s death. He grew up to be patronized by King Philip II and also excelled in religious paintings.

Spanish sculptor Juan Martínez Montañés was one of the most influential figures of the Sevillian school of sculpture and was majorly responsible for the transition of Mannerism to the Baroque style of art. He is best remembered for his wood altars and was known as the God of Wood Carving.

Spanish Mannerist painter Luis de Morales is best remembered for his religious paintings such as his multiple depictions of Madonna and Child and the Passion of Christ. His works carry both Flemish and Italian influences and express fervent religious emotions and anguish. He was also commissioned to paint El Escorial.

Mannerist sculptor and artist Alonso Berruguete is one of the greatest figures of the Spanish Renaissance. He was initially trained by his painter father Pedro Berruguete and grew up to be a master of wood sculptures. He had also briefly been the court painter of Charles V.

Spanish Renaissance painter Vicente Juan Masip was a significant figure of the Valencian school. Initially trained by his father, Vicente Masip, he was later inspired by Italian painters such as da Vinci and created masterpieces such as Altarpiece of Saint Stephen. His works include religion, mythology, and portraits.

Best known for his portraits, Spanish painter Juan Pantoja de la Cruz had been the court painter of both Philip II and Philip III. While his paintings were mostly inspired by Titian and others of the Venetian school, he also exhibited a streak of the Netherlandish attention to detail.

Spanish Baroque sculptor Gregorio Fernández was one of the most significant figures of the Castilian school. The creator of some of the finest polychromed wood sculptures of his time, he included a signature illusion of reality in all his works. St. Veronica and Pieta were two of his iconic statues.

One of the first artists who employed the techniques of the Italian new realism, Spanish Baroque painter Francisco Ribalta specialized in painting religious subjects. He was also the pioneer of tenebroso, or paintings focusing on darkness, in Spain. His masterpieces include Christ Embracing St. Bernard and Nailing to the Cross.

Spanish Castilian painter Fernando Gallego is remembered for his Hispano-Flemish style of art, which combined the Spanish and Netherlandish influences of his time. He was known for his intense expression of human emotions through his art. One of his best works is the ceiling of the University of Salamanca library.

Diego Siloe was a Spanish Renaissance architect and sculptor. He is considered a progenitor of the Granadan school of sculpture. Not much is known about him, but it is believed he was the son of the Spanish-Flemish Gothic sculptor Gil de Siloé. The Cathedral of Granada and the tomb of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba are considered his greatest works. 

Spanish painter and engraver Francisco Herrera the Elder is regarded as the founder of the Seville school of art. Through his works, he charted a path of transition from Mannerism to the Baroque style. He briefly trained Diego Velázquez and created masterpieces such as The Apotheosis of St. Hermenegild.

Spanish Mannerist painter Juan Fernández Navarrete, also referred to as de Navarrete, El Mudo (The Mute), and the Spanish Titian, is best known as the painter appointed by King Philip II of Spain to execute pictures for the El Escorial. Three of Navarrete’s notable works in El Escorial includes Nativity, Abraham Receiving the Three Angels, and a Baptism of Christ.   

One of the pioneers of the Spanish Renaissance, sculptor Bartolomé Ordóñez developed his own style inspired by Italian marble sculptors. He used both wood and marble to create altars and panels. One of his most popular pieces was The Adoration of the Magi, the main panel of the Caraccioli Altarpiece.

Regarded as Spain’s most significant sculptors of the 16th century, Damià Forment is remembered for his huge altars and alabaster masterpieces. His works mingled Gothic and Renaissance elements. He is also considered one of the first to introduce Spain to Mannerist art. His works adorn the Huesca Cathedral among others.

Spanish Baroque painter Luis Tristán was a pupil of El Greco and was highly inspired by Greco’s art. Orazio Borgianni, too, inspired him. His most significant works include The Adoration of the Magi and Holy Family. Some of his paintings on church altarpieces were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War.

Basque Spanish painter Baltasar de Echave Orio, also referred to as Echave the Elder, was among the earliest Spanish artists who reached Mexico. His works mainly featured religious themes. Some of the notable ones, including The Martyrdom of San Aproniano, The Adoration of the Magi and The Holy Family finds place in the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City.

A descendant of a noble family, Spanish painter, poet, sculptor, and architect Pablo de Céspedes initially studied theology and Oriental languages. He was once charged with heresy in Rome but was acquitted. His most notable works include his poem The Art of Painting and his frescos of Roman churches.

Sixteenth-century Spanish painter Francisco López was primarily known as a pupil of Andalusian-born Spanish painter and sculptor Gaspar Becerra. He was trained in Madrid, along with co-pupils such as Miguel Barroso and Jerónimo Vázquez during the reign of Philip II.