Pedro Berruguete

Born in Paredes de Nava around 1445, he was baptised in this church of Santa Eulalia, the same place where his son Alonso was also baptised.

Although his artistic training was largely influenced by the strong presence of the late Gothic style, he managed to assimilate the Renaissance trend. He worked in Italy for the Duke of Urbino, decorating part of the study cabinet in his palace, and his is the magnificent double portrait of Federico de Montefeltro and his son Guidobaldo in the Galleria Nazionale delle Marche in the Ducal Palace in Urbino.

His Italian experience was enormously enriching, as it enabled him to become acquainted with the great artists of the Quattrocento and to assimilate the most innovative painting techniques. On his return to Spain he focused almost exclusively on religious painting. He must have lived regularly in his native town, where he had a studio. He executed works for the collegiate church of Santa María del Campo in Burgos, worked on the cathedral of Toledo and in his last period he painted the main altarpiece of the convent of Santo Tomás and the cathedral altarpiece in Ávila.

It is not known where he died, although it was probably in Madrid in 1503 or 1504.

His artistic output has been defined on the basis of the four documented works that have survived: the main altarpiece of the church of Santa Eulalia in Paredes de Nava, from around 1490; the mural painting of the exterior of the chapel of San Pedro in Toledo cathedral, from 1497; the main altarpiece in Ávila cathedral, documented from 1499 and left unfinished at his death; and the altarpiece in Guaza de Campos (Palencia), documented in 1501, of which only the representation of the Salvator Mundi remains.

His Flemish training and his assimilation of Italian art are clearly evident in all his creations, not to mention the influence of the Gothic painting dominant in Castilla, where he had most of his patrons. This is why his paintings sometimes depict Renaissance architecture, while in others we find Gothic or Mudéjar elements.