COELLO, Claudio. — Spanish painter and architect, born in Madrid, baptized on 2 March 1642, died there on 20 April 1693. A pupil in his homeland of Francesco Rizi, he was nevertheless drawn toward the forms of Rubens, Van Dyck, and the Italian artists of the Seicento. In Madrid
he left paintings in the churches of S. Placido and S. Croce; he also painted frescoes there, now lost in a fire at the beginning of the 18th century, along with the paintings.
In the frescoes of S. Croce he collaborated with the architect Jiménez Donoso, with whom he also worked on the decoration of the triumphal arch erected in honor of Queen Maria Luisa d'Orléans. Other frescoes by him are in the church of the Augustinians in Saragozza (1683), and a large painting of Charles II kneeling before the Host is in the sacristy of the Escorial. The Prado Museum in Madrid preserves numerous works by him, among them: *The Madonna and Child between the Theological Virtues and Saints*, *The Madonna and Child Adored by St. Louis King of France*, *St. Dominic of Guzmán*, *St. Rose of Lima*, and *The Triumph of St. Dominic*.
Coello is to be regarded as one of the most significant exponents of 17th-century Spanish painting.