Alonso del Arco

Little is known about this artist's calling and training before he became Antonio de Pereda's disciple and main collaborator. Deaf and mute from birth, he was known as "Pereda's deaf mute." In 1679 and 1680, he worked alongside Claudio Coello, José Jiménez Donoso, Francisco Ignacio Ruiz de la Iglesia and Matías de Torres, among others, to prepare the celebration of the arrival of Charles II's first wife, Mary Louise of Orleans. Between 1675 and 1685 he made outstanding panels of Saint John the Baptist (Church of Las Trinitarias, Madrid); The Infant Jesus Sleeping on the Cross (1681, Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, Madrid); The Virgin of Mercy Appearing to Sant Peter Nolasco (1682, Museo del Prado); numerous versions of the Immaculate Conception (Museo del Prado, parish church of Villanubla in Valladolid and Augustinian Convent in Valladolid); Mary Magdalene Removing her Jewelry (Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias, Oviedo); and an Annunciation (Museo Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid), among others. He also painted landscapes and portraits, including Mariana of Austria (1696, Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo) and Cardinal Juan Everardo Nithard (1674, Consejo de Estado, Madrid). His highly active workshop during the sixteen nineties explains the existence of numerous works, not all of which share the same quality of execution and style. Considered one of the most prolific artists of the Madrid school in the 17th century, he also painted frescoes, including the chambers at the hermitage of la Virgen de la Oliva (Almonacid, Toledo) with scenes from the life of the Virgin (on site) in 1689.