Pedro Orrente

Pedro Orrente was a Spanish painter who became one of the first artists in his region to adopt a naturalistic style influenced by the Venetian school of painting. He was born in Murcia in 1580, where he probably received his first lessons from a local painter named Juan de Arizmendi. He moved to Toledo in 1600, where he worked on various commissions for churches and convents. He may have traveled to Italy between 1604 and 1607, where he met Angelo Nardi, a fellow Spanish painter. He married in Murcia in 1612 and moved to Valencia in 1616, where he painted a monumental Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian for the cathedral. He returned to Toledo in 1617, where he befriended Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli, the son of El Greco, and took on some students. He also worked on decorations for the Buen Retiro Palace in Madrid. He moved back to Murcia in 1638, where he bought two houses, but left again a year later. He made his last will in Valencia in 1645, when he was very wealthy but had no heirs. He died two days later, on January 19, 1645. His cause of death is unknown. His paintings are characterized by their vivid colors, dynamic compositions, and realistic depictions of landscapes and animals. He was especially fond of painting scenes from the Old Testament, such as The Sacrifice of Isaac or Noah Leaving the Ark. He was also influenced by Caravaggio's use of light and shadow. He was known as "the Spanish Bassano" because of his admiration for the works of the Bassano family, a group of Venetian painters who specialized in biblical genre scenes. His style was influential for many Spanish painters, such as Esteban March, Pablo Pontons, and Mateo Gilarte. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]