Francisco Collantes (1599-1656)
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Francisco Collantes was a Spanish painter of the Baroque era. His Baroque contemporaries frequently imitated Collantes exemplary work. While many biographical details about the life of Francisco Collantes remain a mystery, his work is in some of Europe’s finest collections and influenced the School of Flamenca.
It is known that Collantes travelled to Italy to study the great masters of the Renaissance period and Italian Naturalism. Collantes was also an apprentice of Vincente Carducho, whose paintings were highly regarded in Spain.
Collantes is best known for his paintings of religious and mythological figures. Collantes painted a great number of saints and narrated biblical stories. His biblical scenes often had epic qualities, portraying classical, architectural structures in ruins.
Collantes can be described as a ¨tenebrist¨ (painting dramatically lit subjects in front of a nearly blackened background). In addition to Collantes portraits, he painted a number of landscapes and animal paintings. Unfortunately nearly all of Collantes landscape paintings have disappeared over the years.
Unlike most Spanish artists of the time, Collantes received recognition outside of Spain. Collantes work made it into the collection of the French King, Luis XIV. Those works are now permanently housed in the Louvre in Paris.
Apart from the Louvre, Collantes works are housed in Madrid’s Museo del Prado, the Museo de Colonia and the Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
While little information is known about Collantes personal life, his paintings have maintained a high level of value and appreciation for centuries. Do you think you own a painting by Francisco Collantes? Contact us. We are the experts.