Luis de Morales (1509 – 9 May 1586) was a Spanish painter active during the

Spanish Renaissance The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in art, literature, quotes and science inspired ...

in the 16th century. Known as "El Divino", most of his work was of religious subjects, including many representations of the

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent i ...

and the Passion. Influenced by Raphael Sanzio and the of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

, especially in his early work, he was called by his contemporaries "The Divine Morales" because of his skill and the shocking realism of his paintings, and because of the spirituality transmitted by all his work. His work has been divided by critics into two periods, an early stage marked by the influence of Florentine artists such as Michelangelo, and a more intense, more anatomically correct later stage with similarities to the works of German and Flemish Renaissance painters. The

Prado Museum The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

holds around 22 paintings by Morales. Some of his works can also be seen at Salamanca's Cathedral and Museum in

Plasencia Plasencia () is a walled market city in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Western Spain. , it has a population of 41,047. Situated on the bank of the Jerte River, Plasencia has a historic quarter that is a consequence of the city's stra ...

and the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acade ...

in Madrid.

Selected works

*''La Virgen del Pajarito'' (''Virgin of the Bird'') (1546), kept in the church of San Agustín, in

. *''La Piedad'' (''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...

'') (1560), kept in

Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...

Cathedral. *''San Juan de Ribera'' (1564), in the

. *'' Ecce Homo'', in the Hispanic Society of America. *''La Piedad'' (''Pietà''), in the Prado Museum, Madrid. *''Virgen de la leche'' (''Breastfeeding Virgin''), in the Prado Museum. *''St. Jerome in the Wilderness'', in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. *''Christ tied to a Column'', at Kingston Lacy House (National Trust), Dorset U.K. *''La Piedad (Pietà)',''

, Madrid. *''Christ before Pilate'', Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid. *''Virgin and Child with the infant St. John the Baptist'', Salamanca's Cathedral *''Lamentation of the Christ'', Museo de Salamanca.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morales, Luis de 1510s births 1586 deaths People from Badajoz Painters from Extremadura 16th-century Spanish painters Spanish male painters Mannerist painters