Master of Avila
( fl second half of the 15th century). Spanish painter. He
painted a small triptych (c. 1470–75; Madrid, Mus. Lázaro
Galdiano), which shows on the interior the Nativity, the
Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Magi’s Vision of the Star;
on the exterior is the Annunciation. The Master of Avila may
possibly have visited the Netherlands, because the painting is an
adaptation of the Middleburg triptych of the Nativity (Berlin,
Gemäldegal.) attributed to Rogier van der Weyden; Netherlandish
influence is also apparent in the Virgin’s draperies and the
orange-yellows and reds in St Joseph’s coat, which are typical of the
Master of Flemalle. The Master of Avila also evidently painted several
works for Avila (hence his name), including a panel of the Meeting of
Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate in the north transept of S
Vicente, and three panels of the Meeting at the Golden Gate,
Christ among the Doctors and the Death of the Virgin in the
parish church of Barco de Avila. The Master was a technically
accomplished artist, who fused virile types with a gentle and fresh way
of looking at things (Post). Attempts have been made to identify him
with Pedro Díaz de Oviedo (Mayer) and García de Barco ( fl c.
1476; Tormo), who came from the region where the paintings were found,
but neither identification has been generally accepted.