SANCHEZ COTÁN, Juan

Spanish painter. He was a still-life painter in Toledo until 1603, when he decided to become a monk, and in the following year he entered the Carthusian monasteryGLOSSARYthe complex of buildings used by a community of monks. Among the main elements of the complex are the church, cloister, chapter house (used by the governing body), refectory (dining room) and dormitory (sleeping quarters). at Granada as a laybrother. The religious works he painted after this date are unexceptional, but as a still-life painter he ranks with the great names of European painting. Characteristically he depicts a few simple fruits or vegetables, arranged on a ledge or shelf with an almost geometric clarity and standing out against a dark background (Quince, Cabbage, Melon, Cucumber, San Diego Museum of Art, 1602). Each form is scrutinized with such intensity that the pictures take on a mystical quality, conveying a feeling of wonder and humility in front of the humblest items in God's creation. Sánchez Cotán's austere style had considerable influence on Spanish painting, notably on Zurbarán.