CANO, ALONSO

born March 19, 1601, Granada, Spain died Sept. 3, 1667, Granada painter, sculptor, and architect, often called the Spanish Michelangelo for his diversity of talents. Although he led a remarkably tempestuous life, he produced religious works of elegance and ease. Moving to Seville in 1614, he studied sculpture under Juan Martnez Montas and painting under Francisco Pacheco. Forced to leave Seville in 1637 because of a duel with the painter Llano y Valds, he fled to Madrid and obtained the favour of the court. His activities as court painter ended in 1644, when, suspected of the murder of his wife, he had to escape to Valencia. He then returned to King Philip IV and successfully solicited a position as canon in the cathedral in Granada in 1652, but he was expelled for misbehaviour in 1656. Returning to Madrid, he took holy orders and was appointed chief architect of the Granada cathedral, a position he held until his death. Cano painted extensively in Seville, Madrid, and Granada. The Seville paintings, among them Via Crucis (Worcester, Mass.) and St. Francis Borgia (Seville), are influenced by Zurbarn, monumental and bold, with strong tenebroso (emphasis on darkness). The Madrid paintings, including St. Isidore's Miracle of the Well (164546; Prado), are more impressionistic, foreshadowing the work of Velzquez. Finally, the last paintings, from his stay in Granada, especially the Mysteries of the Virgin in the Cathedral, are harmonious, with a classic balance and symmetry. No sculpture from his Seville period has survived, but many of his polychromed wood statues exist from his time in Granada. His finest work of sculpture, San Diego de Alcal (165357; Palace of Charles V, Granada), is characteristic in its simplicity of design and its expressive eloquence. Cano is most famous for his paintings and sculpture, but his facade for the cathedral at Granada is considered one of the most original works of Spanish architecture, bearing Cano's unique personal stamp and executed with remarkable expressive unity.