Famous Hispanic Painters

The Hispanics are proud to have had some great artists whose names have been written in golden letters in the Hispanic history. Hispanics have a rich heritage of art and literature. Some of the well-noted artists of ancient times are still alive in the hearts of the Hispanics. Their life and work interests one and all. Here is a list of some very well-known Hispanic painters.

El Greco: Born in Crete, he was also a sculptor and an architect. He belonged to the Spanish Renaissance. He received his initial training as a painter in Cretan School where he showed outstanding skills in painting. He began practicing as a painter at the age of 22 in the year 1563. He preferred drawing tall and slender figures. He painted with intuition and imagination and brought life to his pictures by depicting emotions.

Francisco Zurbaran: He was born at Fuente de Cantos in Extremadura, on November 7, 1598. As a child he used to imitate objects with charcoal. His compositions mostly contained single figures and the color tone was often bluish. At about the age of 32, he was appointed painter to Philip IV. He painted the great altarpiece of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1627 which is now kept in the Seville museum. His painting depicting a life-sized figure of a kneeling Franciscan holding a skull represents the fineness of his work. He passed away in 1664. He is still remembered for his religious paintings and his still-life pictures.

Diego Velazquez: He was one of the greatest painters who belonged to the 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain on 6th of June, 1599. He was gifted with skills in art and hence started undergoing training under a famous painter, Francisco de Herrera. He was a prominent artist in the court of King Philip IV. His paintings covered subjects like mythology, religion and common life. Velazquez was referred to as the "noblest and most commanding man among the artists of his country". He died on August 6, 1660. Many of Spain’s well-known artists have recreated his works as a tribute to this legend.

Pablo Picasso: Apart from being a painter, he was also a sculptor and draftsman. He is one of the eminent personalities of the twentieth century art world. His mother had said that his first words as a kid were "piz piz", which is an abbreviation of the word ‘pencil’ in Spanish. His flair for drawing was seen since childhood. His father trained him in oil painting and figure drawing. His works of art have been divided into periods. Works painted in shades of blue characterize Picasso’s Blue period. Blindness was the theme of many of his paintings of this period. The Rose period that lasted for two years consisted of works painted in cheerful colors. The African Influence Period lasted from 1907 to 1909. Monochrome brownish and neutral colors characterized his paintings of the Cubism period. He died on April 8, 1973 at the age of 91. His paintings, 'Dora Maar au Chat' and 'Nude in a Black Armchair' rank in the list of the most expensive paintings of the world.

Joan Miro: He was an ethnic Catalan born in 1893. He was a painter, sculptor and ceramicist. Attracted by the arts community, he moved to Paris in 1920. There he developed a style of his own. It was known as ‘organic forms and flattened picture planes drawn with a sharp line’. He pioneered the development of automatic drawing, marking the beginning of Surrealism. He died in 1983. Joan Miro is one of the internationally acclaimed artists.

These were only a few of the famous Hispanic painters. They have contributed towards enrichment of the art culture of the Hispanics. They continue to live through their work.