Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo

Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo (c.1612 – February 10, 1667) was a Spanish Baroque portrait and landscape painter, the most distinguished of the followers of his father-in-law Velázquez, whose style he imitated more closely than did any other artist. A fine painter himself, Mazo was a master of landscape, as proven by his most celebrated work View of Saragossa.

Life Little is really known about del Mazo's early life. The date and place of his birth are uncertain. Apparently, he was born in Cuenca, as his parents, Hernando Martínez and Lucia Bueno del Mazo, were from that province. However, some sources consider Madrid as his native city. The date of his birth has been estimated around 1612 since it is known that his mother was born in 1596 and he married in 1633 when he probably was in his early twenties.

The whereabouts of his training remain a mystery. He must have been in Velázquez's workshop sometimes before his marriage, so it is quite possible that he had been his future father-in-law's apprentice. Del Mazo married the famous painter's only surviving daughter, Francisca de Silva Velázquez y Pacheco, on August 21, 1633, at the Church of Santiago in Madrid. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Albert II of Belgium, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg.