Juan Correa de Vivar

Juan Correa de Vivar (c.1510 - 16 April 1566) was a Spanish painter.

Correa was born in Mascaraque; his date of birth has been determined to be around 1510. Records show he grew up wealthy. When Juan was 17 or 18 years old he joined an artist workshop in Burgundy where he met with many other Spanish artists at the time, including Pedro de Cisneros, whom he befriended.

Juan’s brother Eufrasia and Eufrasia’s son Rodrigo also grew up to be artists. Rodrigo was apprenticed with his uncle, and continued some of his uncle’s works after his death. In Mascaraque, Juan was a substantial landowner with a nice house where he did much of his painting. He took frequent trips but always stayed in the Toledo area.

Juan was married and a religious man. It can be seen in his testament: a copy was found in the church files of Mascaraque. When he died, Juan split all his possessions between his nephew Rodrigo and the church of Mascaraque.

Juan was a well-regarded painter during his life, but many records were lost. His works and life were brought to light again when the researcher and art historian Ceán Bermudez in 1800 published a dictionary of famous artists and included a brief article about his works and Italian influences. The full reconstruction of its biography has been primarily accomplished in the 20th century.

Records show Juan died on 16 April 1566 in San Miguel. Juan’s body was taken back to Mascaraque, where he was buried in the same plot where his parents were laid to rest. Many members of the artistic community came to the funeral service, including architects Alonso de Covarrubias and Nicolás de Vergara, the sculptor Francisco de Linares, and the painters Diego de Aguilar and Blas Pablín.

Juan was heavily influenced by Raphael. One of his most important works was the altarpiece of the church of Almonacid de Zorita, in the province of Guadalajara. This work was done in collaboration with Alonso de Covarrubias. It was destroyed in World War II in 1936-39. From Raphael he took his colorful tone and delicate and smooth figures. Over the years his style evolved into more dynamic forms of Mannerism, especially with respect to the way to bring about violent movement in the figures.

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