CARDUCHO, VICENTE

(1576-1638)

Florentine-bornManneristpainter who was active, along with his brother Bartolomé, in the court ofPhilip II of Spain; both men were involved in the decoration of the Monastery of San Lorenzo in ElEscorial. In 1609, Carducho succeeded his brother as royal painter. In that capacity, he was charged with the commission to paintSt.John the BaptistPreaching(1610; Madrid, Museo Real Academia de Bellas Artes) for the Basilica ofSt.Francisin Madrid. In 1618, he also executed thealtarpiecefor the Monastery of Guadalupe in Cáceres and, from 1626 to 1632, he painted a series of 56 canvases for the Royal Monastery of Paular near Segovia. In 1623 his position was threatened whenDiego Velazquezarrived at the court in Madrid. Carducho is best known as an art theorist. HisDiálogos de la Pintura(1633) did much to raise the status of painters in Spain from craftsman to genius. It championedMichelangeloand theclassicalItalian tradition and criticizedCaravaggiofor his excessive naturalism—in reality, an attack on Velázquez, who also stressed naturalism and who overshadowed Carducho at the Spanish court.