Cristóbal Vela

Born in Jaén, Spain, it is agreed that Vela studied the first principles of painting in Córdoba, Andalusia, under Pablo de Céspedes.

At the end of his education, Vela worked with two art dealers in Seville, Carlos Atabante and Juan de Quintanilla.

In Priego, he married Catherine Garrido and had a son, Antonio Vela Cobo (1629-1675), who became a painter, sculptor, and gilder.

In 1645, he was commissioned to complete altarpiece paintings of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba after winning a competition alongside Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra.

Other famous works of his include the upper choir of San Agustín de Córdoba, which follows the iconographic style of Francisco Pacheco and his prophet series for the convent of St. Augustine.

San Miguel by Cristóbal Vela, oil on canvas (177 x 117 cm.), Museum of Fine Arts, Cordoba. Copy of an engraving by Hieronymus Wierix from Marten de Vos , from the monastery of San Jeronimo de Valparaiso, circa 1630