Juan Rizi

Juan Rizi (1600–1681), born Juan Andrés Ricci de Guevara in Madrid, was the son of the Italian painter Antonio Ricci, who had come to Spain to work on the decoration of El Escorial, and the brother of the painter Francisco Rizi. He began his training with his father and also attended the workshop of Juan Bautista Maíno. In 1627 he joined the Benedictine order at Montserrat. Painter, architect and writer on theology and geometry, he taught drawing at the court of Prince Balthasar Charles until he was removed for opposing the king's choice of a new abbot. He then worked mainly for the monasteries where he lived, among them Irache, Santo Domingo de Silos and San Millán de la Cogolla; most of what he painted at Montserrat was lost in a fire during the Peninsular War. He moved to Rome in 1662, and in 1670 to Monte Cassino, where he died. Here: Supper of St. Benedict.