Entre Agostino Carracci y Veronese: apuntes sobre el aprendizaje italiano de Francisco de Herrera «el Mozo»

Abstract

The presence in Rome of Francisco de Herrera «the Younger» (1627-1685) was based until now solely on Palomino's biographical account and on stylistic evidence. Ten engraved decorative cartouches attributed to the artist (only two of which were already known), establish Herrera's sojourn in Rome to around 1649. They also shed light on his activities as an engraver, a previously unknown facet of his artistic production. Likewise, they attest to Herrera's stylistic evolution from virtual imitation of his father's (Herrera «the Elder ») manner to one that becomes clearly personal under the influence of the Roman milieu. Mid-seventeenth century Rome may be also responsible for Herrera's nuanced and complex neo-Venetianism, a trait that sets him apart from his contemporaries in Spain.