Roelas, Juan de las (c. 1558–1625)

Castilian painter. He worked in Seville, using a style strongly influenced by Venetian art. Among his principal religious paintings are Death of St Isidore and Martyrdom of St Andrew (1609, Seville Museum). Francisco de Zurbarán was his pupil.

It is not clear whether Roelas visited Venice, but the Venetian influence, particularly that of Paolo Veronese, is the most distinctive feature of his style.

Roelas became a priest about 1600 and painted huge, dramatic altarpieces for churches in Seville which are among the greatest work produced in Spain at the time, but he has remained comparatively unknown because almost none of his work is to be found outside his native city.