Juan de Alfaro first studied under Antonio del Castillo at Seville, and
subsequently in the school of Velasquez at Madrid. After his return to
Seville, he was wont to plume himself upon the knowledge of art which he
had acquired in the school of that great painter; and he also signed all
his pictures in a conspicuous manner, "_Alfaro, pinxit_." This was too
much for Castillo, and he accordingly inscribed his Baptism of St.
Francis, executed for the Capuchin convent, where his juvenile rival was
likewise employed, "_Non pinxit Alfaro_." Years after, Palomino became
sufficiently intimate with Alfaro, to ask him what he thought of
Castillo's sarcastic inscription. "I think," replied the unabashed
object of the jest, "that it was a great honor for me, who was then a
beardless boy, to be treated as a rival by so able an artist."