Luis de Morales (ca. 1519-1586) is known as "El Divino" (the divine) in Spain because of the intensely religious nature of his paintings, which reflect the almost fanatical piety of the Counter Reformation in his native land.

Luis de Morales was born presumably at Badajoz in the province of Estremadura. He may have studied at Évora, Portugal, but it is more likely that he received his training as a painter in Seville. Flemish Renaissance artists at work there were the major influence in his development. Pedro de Campaña (Pieter de Kampeneer), a native of Brussels, had lived and worked in Bologna and Rome previous to his 25-year sojourn in Seville, and his style combined Italian High Renaissance elements with a native Flemish bent for precise objective rendering.

The dark shadows throughout Morales's pictures, particularly in the modeling, contribute greatly to the establishment of a sense...