(b Madrid, c. 1590; d Madrid, 1630). Spanish painter. He came from a family of painters and gilders and was a pupil of Eugenio Cajés. In his signed Adoration of the Shepherds (1612; Madrid, priv. col.) there is evidence of his knowledge of the Escorial circle, with echoes of Federico Zuccaro, Luca Cambiaso and Jacopo Bassano, and also of his interest in the effects of light. In 1619 he was contracted to paint a series for the Charterhouse of El Paular, Madrid, to which belongs the Ascension of Christ (Madrid, Prado), whose fine colouring and figures are close to the style of Cajés; for the same Charterhouse he frescoed the dome of the chapel of the Sagrario (destr. 18th century), for which he was paid the large sum of 4000 ducados. The signed Chasuble Being Conferred on St Ildefonso (1622; Madrid, Prado; on dep. parish church of Cantoria, Almería) is strongly reminiscent of Cajés and also shows traces of the immediate circle of Guido Reni in Rome, where Lanchares is known to have visited. In 1627 Lanchares was among twelve candidates to apply for the post of Pintor del Rey, vacant because of the death of Bartolomé González. The three other holders of the title, Vicente Carducho, Cajés and Diego Velázquez, elected him unanimously, but for administrative reasons he was not appointed. The signed retable in the parish church of Berninches, Guadalajara, is of an admirable Assumption of the Virgin (1628) in which the influence of Cajés remains apparent; its technical freedom and richness of colouring, however, are highly personal. The fine quality of Lanchares’s work was recognized by his contemporaries, including the poet Lope de Vega and Velázquez.

• Lanchares, Antonio
  • Polo, Diego