Francisco Herrera the Elder

Two of Herrera's three children also became alienated from him, his son Francisco ("el Mozo") leaving for Rome, and his daughter entering a nunnery.

This gave rise to the charge of counterfeiting, and he fled for sanctuary to the Jesuit College, for which he painted "The Triumph of St. Hermengild", a picture so impressive that when Philip IV saw it (1621) he immediately pardoned the painter.

Herrera's pictures are full of energy, the drawing is good and the colouring so cleverly managed that the figures stand out in splendid relief.

Many of his small easel pictures, in oil, represent fairs, dances, interiors of inns, and deal with the intimate life of Spain.

In the archiepiscopal palace of Madrid are four large canvases, one of which, "Moses Smiting the Rock", is celebrated for its dramatic qualities and daring technique.