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PÉREZ SIERRA, Francisco - b. 1627 Napoli, d. 1709 Madrid - WGA

PÉREZ SIERRA, Francisco

(b. 1627 Napoli, d. 1709 Madrid)

Spanish painter. He was the pupil of Aniello Falcone in Naples, and Juan de Toledo in Madrid. He excelled in painting battles and executed several altarpieces for churches.

Pérez Sierra was an able figure painter who appears to have all but abandoned his career as a professional artist to live on a salary from the bureaucratic office he occupied as Agente General de los Presidios de Espana. His biographer, Antonio Palomino, knew Pérez Sierra in his later years and writes that he dedicated himself in an amateur capacity to the painting of the flowers and fruits that he grew in his own garden in Madrid, on the Calle de las Infantas. He also appears to have had a close friendship with the flower painter Gabriel de la Corte, at whose wedding he acted as a witness.

Vase of Flowers
Vase of Flowers by

Vase of Flowers

P�rez Sierra’s flower paintings were appreciated by some of the most distinguished collectors of his time, including the king himself. On the death of Charles II, the 1700 inventory of the Buen Retiro palace mentioned a series of six flower pieces by his hand, of which four are known today, the painting shown here is one of them. These works show the distinctive personality of this artist in the genre. Their low viewpoint endows the flower pieces with a degree of monumentality and reflects the fact that they were conceived for display over windows or doors, or another such high point on a wall.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 2 minutes):

Franz Schubert: Blumenlied (Flower Song) D 431

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Vase of Flowers
Vase of Flowers by

Vase of Flowers

P�rez Sierra’s flower paintings were appreciated by some of the most distinguished collectors of his time, including the king himself. On the death of Charles II, the 1700 inventory of the Buen Retiro palace mentioned a series of six flower pieces by his hand, of which four are known today, the painting shown here is one of them. These works show the distinctive personality of this artist in the genre. Their low viewpoint endows the flower pieces with a degree of monumentality and reflects the fact that they were conceived for display over windows or doors, or another such high point on a wall.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 7 minutes):

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, ballet suite, op. 71, Waltz of the Flowers

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