The Martyrdom of St Andrew (detail)

The school of Seville progressed rapidly from Renaissance classicism to the naturalism of the Baroque. Pacheco was joined by other important masters, in particular Juan de las Roelas, one of whose monumental creations is the painting of St. James during the battle of Clavijo (Seville cathedral), dating from 1609, though even this is surpassed by the magnificent Martyrdom of St. Andrew, in the Seville Museum, a composition in which the painter’s interest in naturalism and his rejection of formalistic representation are revealed in the vitality of the details. The figures in the lower part of the picture are especially fine. The spatial values are rendered with visual fidelity.