Roelas, Juan de

(c. 1588-1625)

   Spanish painter who became the leading figure in Seville during the first two decades of the 17th century, only to be eclipsed by Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Esteban Murillo. Roelas first worked in Valladolid in c. 1600. Until 1606, he served as a priest in the town of Olivares, near Seville, which gave him the opportunity to forge relationships with Sevillian patrons. In 1617, he went to Madrid in the hopes of becoming royal court painter, an effort that resulted in failure. In 1621, he returned to Olivares, where he died four years later. Roelas is best known for the altarpiece he painted for the Church of St. Isidore in Seville (1613), a work that depicts the saint's death on the lower tier and the heavenly glory that awaits him above. Other works by Roelas include his Adoration of the Name of Jesus (1604-1605; Seville, University Chapel), Vision of St. Bernard(1611; Seville, Hospital de San Bernardo), and Martyrdom of St. Andrew (c. 1612; Seville, Museo de Bellas Artes). As his style is closely related to that of Tintoretto, he is often referred to as the Spanish Tintoretto.