Correa was the
Afro-Mexican son of a
mulatto (or dark-skinned) physician from
Cádiz, Spain, and a freed black woman, Pascuala de Santoyo. Correa "became one of the most prominent artists in
New Spain during his lifetime, along with
Cristóbal de Villalpando." Correa was a highly productive religious painter, with two major paintings in the
sacristy of the
Cathedral of Mexico City, one on the subject of the
Assumption and
Coronation of the Virgin (each from 1689), and the
Entry into Jerusalem (1691). Elsewhere in the cathedral he created the
Vision of the Apocalypse, and other versions of the
Assumption and
Coronation of the Virgin. His two canvases for the sacristy are regarded as masterpieces of
Mexican baroque. Correa also painted major works for the Jesuit church in
Tepozotlan, Mexico (now the Museum of the Viceroyalty), the Chapel of the Rosary in the convent of
Azcapotzalco (in Mexico City) and—based on models by ——for the
cathedral of Durango. Correa was the teacher of
José de Ibarra and Juan Rodríguez Juarez. His brother, José Correa, his nephews Miguel Correa and Diego Correa, and his grandsons (also named Miguel and Diego) worked as painters. == Style ==