FERNÁNDEZ, Alejo

Spanish painter, probably of German extraction, as he is referred to as 'Maestro Alexos - pintor Aléman'. He married the daughter of a painter called Pedro Fernandez at Cordova and took her name, but he worked mainly at Seville, where he was the leading painter of the first third of the 16th century. His work, which is represented in Seville CathedralGLOSSARYThe principal church of a province or diocese, where the throne of the bishop is placed. For reasons lost to time and tradition, a cathedral always faces west - toward the setting sun. The altar is placed at the east end. The main body, or nave, of the cathedral is usually divided into one main and two side aisles. These lead up to the north and south transepts, or arms of the cross, the shape in which a cathedral is usually formed., was essentially Flemish Mannerist in style, but it has a personal lyrical quality, and his treatment of architecture and perspectiveGLOSSARYThe method of representing three-dimensional objects on a flat surface. Perspective gives a picture a sense of depth. The most important form of perspective in the Renaissance was linear perspective (first formulated by the architect Brunelleschi in the early 15th century), in which the real or suggested lines of objects converge on a vanishing point on the horizon, often in the middle of the composition (centralized perspective). The first artist to make a systematic use of linear perspective was Masaccio, and its principles were set out by the architect Alberti in a book published in 1436. The use of linear perspective had a profound effect on the development of Western art and remained unchallenged until the 20th century. suggests that he may have visited Italy. He had a busy studio and several followers, among them his son Sebastián.