Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was one of the few distinctive Spanish Baroque painters who spent his career outside of the country's cosmopolitan centers of Madrid or Seville. Born in C?rdoba, he received his early training with his father and later studied with a painter of religious figures. By 1638 Castillo was described as a master painter. He specialized in religious works in fresco and oil on canvas. Many of his paintings still can be seen in and around Cordoba, particularly in the city's cathedral. In the solidity and weight of his figure modeling, Castillo displayed the influence of Sevillan painter Francisco de Zurbaran, while Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's style contributed to his preference for muted tones.
Castillo was a prolific draftsman, with a characteristic style of vigorous strokes in quill pen and sepia ink and in red chalk. His peers admired and collected his drawings during his lifetime. Artists and students, who regularly copied Castillo's carefully finished drawings, also studied his technique. In subject matter, his countryside scenes and studies of animals were unique in Spanish Baroque draftsmanship. He often signed sheets with the interlaced monogram AC

Works