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Prado, Blas de
(b Camarena, Toledo, c. 1546; d Madrid, 1599). Spanish painter and draughtsman. He probably studied in Toledo in the circle of Francisco de Comontes ( fl 1526–65) and Juan Correa de Vivar. His style shows a familiarity with contemporary Italian painting, particularly Roman art, as is evident in his straightforward, clear compositions, grandiose forms and accurate draughtsmanship. He was also influenced by the colouring of the Venetian painters and by the work of painters at the Escorial. On 27 July 1590 he was nominated Pintor Segundo to Toledo Cathedral, Pintor Primero being Luis de Velasco. He remained in this post until the end of April 1593, shortly after which he travelled to Morocco as an envoy of Philip II to paint portraits of the harem of Sultan Ahmad II al-Mansur (reg 1578–1603). He enjoyed considerable status in his day, being respected as a painter of portraits and still-lifes. Although none of his still-lifes is extant, he was one of the initiators of the genre in Spain and taught it to his follower Juan Sánchez Cotán, who executed the earliest surviving still-lifes of the Spanish Baroque period. Two of Blas de Prado’s significant works are the portraits of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia (1583) and Empress Mary and Prince Philip (1587; both Toledo, Mus. Santa Cruz), commissioned to decorate one of the arches erected in Toledo to house the relics of S Leocadia. His best-known work is the Holy Family with SS Ildephonsus and John the Evangelist and the Master Alonso de Villegas (1589; Madrid, Prado). Although there are few surviving paintings by him, a number of his drawings are extant.
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