Maria de Abarca
Spanish painter / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maria de Abarca, often referred to as Doña Maria de Abarca, was a seventeenth-century Spanish painter active between 1630 and 1656 in Madrid, Spain.[1][2] She was born in Madrid, but the dates of her birth and death are unknown.[3][4] Little is known of her family, but an entry in Dr. Coombe's Catalogue of Engravers' Specimens suggests that her father may have been Marius Abacus.[5] She was known for her work as an amateur portrait painter, and praised for her ability in taking likenesses.[6] Maria de Abarca was a contemporary of Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velázquez, who reportedly admired her work.[4]