Juan de Borgoña

Juan de Borgoña brought the calm, balanced style of the Italian Renaissance to Castile. His figures are finely drawn, elegant and tranquil, set in carefully built spaces with landscape and decorative backgrounds, and his compositions have an order that was new in Spain at the time.

He was born around 1470, probably in Burgundy as his name suggests, and was active in Spain from about 1495 until his death in 1536. His career centred on Toledo, where his earliest documented work is wall painting for the cathedral, including The Birth of the Virgin. A painting of the Virgin with Saint Dominic and Saint John the Evangelist is in the Louvre. He was one of several painters from abroad who shaped Spanish painting around 1500.

He should not be confused with a Catalan painter of similar name active around 1510 to 1525.