Being the gateway to the New World, Seville became the cultural centre of Spain in the 16th Century, and attracted artists from across Europe, drawn by lure of commissions for the growing empire, and for the numerous religious houses of the wealthy city. Starting from a strongly Flemish tradition of detailed and smooth brushwork, as revealed in the works of Francisco Pacheco (1564–1642), over time a more naturalistic approach developed, with the influence of Juan de Roelas (c. 1560–1624) and Francisco Herrera the Elder (1590–1654). This more naturalistic approach, influenced by Caravaggio, became predominant in Seville, and formed the training background of three Golden Age masters: Cano, Zurbarán and Velázquez.