Herrera Barnuevo and his Chapel in the Descalzas Reales

Abstract

Although Sebastián de Herrera Barnuevo enjoyed a reputation considerable enough to succeed Mazo as chief painter (pintor de cámara) to Charles II in 1667, very few of his works have been preserved.¹ He is more widely known as a draftsman because of the large number of drawings in pen-and-ink of high quality, which give him a high rank among Spanish artists in this medium.² His finest composition in oil is the large canvas of the Holy Family (Fig. 2), which, with its architectural setting, escaped the devastating fire of 1936–1938 that nearly ruined the Cathedral of San Isidro at Madrid.³