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P
Pacheco, Francisco (1564-1654)
Spanish painter and art critic
A competent but not remarkable painter,
Pacheco's claim to fame is his role as
instructor and theoretician during nearly a
century of artistic activity in S EVILLE .
Throughout his long life he knew and often
taught the leading figures of Spain's Golden
Age (S IGLO DE O RO ), from E L G RECO to
D IEGO V ELÁZQUEZ . His account of a visit to
the former provides a sympathetic view of
the master in his old age, but not approval
of his style, which was not understood by
the prosaic visitor. As head of Seville's
leading academy Pacheco was the instruc-
tor of (among many others) Velázquez,
who became his son-in-law. A didactic tra-
ditionalist, Pacheco was named by the
S PANISH I NQUISITION to oversee artistic
activity in Seville and took a strong posi-
tion against any religious or moral impro-
prieties in works of art.
Pacheco was clearly very comfortable as
a writer. His El arte de la pintura, su antigüe-
dad y grandeza (The art of painting, Its antiq-
uity and grandeur), published in 1649,
provides not only a valuable overview of
the history and techniques of painting but
also insights into the way art was compre-
hended in 17th-century Spain. In addition
he assembled a “compendium” of 170 por-
traits in red and black crayon of “Illustrious
and Memorable Men,” unfinished at his
death. This work combines his skills at por-
traiture with his comments and judgments
on the worthies he most admired. A cheer-
ful, rather than an embittered, conserva-
tive, Pacheco reveals an amiable affection
for such minor matters as the bodegones
(still-lifes of kitchen scenes) that some of
his contemporaries dismissed as trivial.
Although he believed that the proper goal
of painting was to inspire religious feelings,
he was clearly humanistic enough to enjoy
glimpses of ordinary life.
Padilla, Juan de (1490-1521)
Spanish rebel leader
Member of a prominent family in T OLEDO
and a member of its city council, Padilla
was among the many Castilians who
became angered by the behavior of the new
king, C HARLES I, in 1518-19. The young
monarch surrounded himself with foreign
favorites, showed no respect for the Cas-
tilian cities, and imposed oppressive taxes
to finance his acquisition of the title Holy
Roman Emperor. In the early 1520s, with
some of his countrymen already in revolt,
Padilla became personally aggrieved over
the Crown's denial of a property inheri-
tance. He then joined the incipient rebellion
and soon became its military commander.
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