Diego Díez Ferreras (? –1697) was a Spanish baroque painter and metalworker,[1] originally from Carmona (Seville) but active in Valladolid,[2] where he is documented from 1662 until his death.[3]
His production, very abundant and dispersed, being the most representative Valladolid painter of the second half of the 17th century, projects a naive and almost popular style.
In 1662 Díez was already established in Valladolid, where he received Manuel Osorio as an apprentice, perhaps a relative of Inés Osorio whom he would later marry, as witnessed by the sculptor .[4]
Among his first works, the canvases he painted for the altarpiece of the Church of the Holy Cross, in Medina de Rioseco, dedicated to the life of Emperor Constantine, around 1666, stand out.[5]
Lacking technical resources and unable to provide movement to his groups, despite frequently addressing poorly treated or completely unpublished iconography, Díez frequently resorted to foreign prints, as can be seen, for example, in the paintings dedicated to the assumption of Mary in the main altarpiece of Laguna de Duero, from the convent of San Francisco in Valladolid, and the in Medina del Campo, signed in Valladolid in 1682, inspired by an engraving of a composition by Rubens.
The canvas Preparations for the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is attributed to him.[6]
For its testimonial value more than for its aesthetic values, the series of eight oil paintings embedded in the vault of the English College (Valladolid) of the story of Our Lady Vulnerata (desecrated during the sacking of Cádiz by the English in 1596), deserves to be highlighted.