(b Cuenca province [probably Beteta], c.1612/15; d Madrid, 10 Feb. 1667). Spanish painter. He was a pupil and assistant of Velázquez, married his daughter in 1633, and succeeded him as court painter in 1661. His life is fairly well documented, but his work is not. Among his very few signed paintings is a portrait of Queen Mariana (1666, NG, London), and many of the works attributed to him were formerly given to Velázquez, whose mature style he imitated with great assurance. In addition to portraits he painted some excellent landscapes (View of Saragossa, 1647, Prado, Madrid).

Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)