(b Santorcaz, bapt 3 Aug 1614; d Madrid, 13 Oct 1676). Spanish painter. He was the pre-eminent painter of flower-pieces in 17th-century Spain. Although Spaniards of the previous generation had painted such works, it was the inspiration of Flemish and Italian examples in Madrid that from c. 1650 encouraged Arellano’s success as a specialist in this genre. According to Palomino, who moved to the Court shortly after the artist’s death and befriended many painters who had known him, Arellano began to paint flowers only in his thirties after a beginning that showed little promise. When asked why he devoted himself to flower-pieces and had abandoned figures, he replied that it was because with them he worked less and earned more (Palomino).

• Arellano, Juan de (1614-76)
  • collaboration
    • Noort, Juan de
    • Pérez, Bartolomé
  • patrons and collectors
    • Bourbon §II: (5) Infante Don Luis Antonio de Borbón
    • Santiago, Marqueses de
  • reproductive prints by others
    • Villafranca, Pedro de
  • teachers
    • Solís: (1) Juan de Solís
  • works
    • Flower painting, §2(i): Early 17th century
    • Still-life, §2: 14th to 17th centuries: Renaissance and Baroque