Cano, Alonso (1601–1667)

Spanish sculptor, painter, and architect, a leading figure in Spanish baroque art. He was active in Seville, Madrid, and Granada, and designed the facade of Granada cathedral 1667. He also created monumental carved screens, such as the reredos (altar screen) in Lebrija, near Seville, graceful free-standing polychrome carved figures, and religious paintings.

Cano was born in Granada and studied painting under Francisco Pacheco, the teacher of Diego Velázquez. In 1637 he went from Seville to Madrid, where he was befriended by Velázquez and was employed by Philip IV on restoring pictures in the royal collection, work that brought him under the influence of the great Venetian painters he saw there. He returned to Granada in the early 1650s.