He was born at
Baeza in the
Province of Jaén. He went to
Rome in 1545, and studied with
Giorgio Vasari, whom he assisted in painting the hall of the
Palazzo della Cancelleria. He worked with
Daniele da Volterra on the
Trinità dei Monti church, where, in 1555, he painted a ‘Nativity’. This tabernacle may have later been melted down to fashion a new Baroque tabernacle, stolen in 1741. In 1556 Becerra married Doňa Paula Velasquez and returned to Spain and settled in Zaragoza for a time. He was extensively employed by
Philip II, and decorated many of the rooms in the palace at
Madrid with
frescoes. A ceiling fresco in the
Royal Palace of El Pardo displays the "Exploits of Perseus". He also painted altar-pieces for several of the churches, most of which have been destroyed. In 1562 he completed the main
retable for the altar of the
Convent of Las Descalzas Reales, which was considered his master work. Unfortunately, this was destroyed by fire in 1862. His fame as a sculptor almost surpassed that as a painter. One of his best works was a magnificent figure of the
Virgin Mary, which was destroyed during the French war. He was also commissioned by
Elisabeth of Valois for a statue of
Our Lady of Solitude at the
Order of the Minims' chapel of the convent of Our Lady of Victory. The high altar of
Astorga Cathedral (1558) is considered a masterwork of Spanish Renaissance sculpture. He became court painter at
Madrid around 1563, ==References==