Pedro Calderon De La Barca Collection

The dramatist, poet, and writer Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño, known more often as Pedro Calderón de la Barca, was born in Madrid and lived from January 17, 1600 to May 25, 1681. Although educated at the Colegio Imperial, the Jesuit College in Madrid, he decided to study law instead of immediately joining the priesthood, although there is no evidence he ever practiced as a lawyer. Instead he found his calling as a writer first by winning several poetry contests and later with his first play: Amor, honor y poder, performed at the royal palace in June of 1623.

Calderon helped define the second Spanish Golden Age of theatre, perfecting the Spanish Baroque style previously established by Lope de Vega. Commissioned by King Philip IV to write plays for the royal theatre, Calderon was made a Knight of the Order of Santiago in 1637. The themes in his plays are both philosophical and complex, featuring plots of introspection as well as honor and tragedy. Calderon was a perfectionist and often rewrote his plays even after they debuted, sometimes cutting scenes and meters to create a uniformity of style and structure.

In the 1650s, Caldaron joined the Spanish priesthood, and later decided to give up writing secular dramas in favor of autos sacramentales, one-act morality plays that focus on the mysteries of the Eucharist. He was appointed to the position of chaplain to Philip IV, which he held for the rest of his life.