Juan Pantoja de La Cruz was born in 1553 in Valladolid. Very little is known of his formative years as a painter. He was a pupil of the court painter Alonso Sánchez Coello in Madrid and he must have assisted his master in complying with his duties as painter of the Spanish King, Philip II. Pantoja probably continued to work in his master studio after completing his training. He married in 1585 beginning to paint for the court around that time. After Sanchez Coello's death in 1588, Pantoja took over his master workshop and became court painter to Philip II of Spain.