Bartolomé González y Serrano facts for kids
Bartolomé González y Serrano (1564–1627) was an important Spanish painter. He lived during the Baroque period, a time when art was very dramatic and grand. Bartolomé was especially known for painting portraits. His style was similar to other famous court painters like Alonso Sánchez Coello and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz.
A Life in Art
Bartolomé González was born in a city called Valladolid in Spain. He learned how to paint from teachers like Patricio Caxés and Juan Pantoja de la Cruz. Later, he moved to Madrid, the capital city.
From 1607, he started working for the Royal Court. This meant he painted portraits for the king and his family. He worked alongside other painters like Rodrigo de Villandrando. In 1617, King Philip III of Spain officially made him a royal painter.
Painting for the King
Bartolomé González mostly painted members of the royal family. He also painted portraits of important people from other European royal families. He paid great attention to small details in his paintings. He would carefully show the fancy embroidery on clothes, sparkling jewelry, and other decorations.
However, the faces in his portraits often looked serious and didn't show much emotion. He used a technique called chiaroscuro, which uses strong contrasts between light and dark. This made the faces look a bit stiff.
During King Philip III's reign, Bartolomé painted many portraits. He created ninety-one paintings of the royal family. Some of these were copies of other artworks.
Other Works
Even though he was famous for portraits, Bartolomé also painted other types of art. He created some religious paintings, like San Juan Bautista (Saint John the Baptist) in 1621. Another religious painting was Rest on the Flight into Egypt from 1627.
We also know that he painted still lifes, which are pictures of objects like fruit or flowers. He also painted landscapes, which are scenes of nature. Bartolomé also made many copies of famous paintings from the royal collection. These included works by Italian artists like Titian and Raphael, and Spanish artists like Pedro Orrente.
