Sevillian school of the seventeenth century. Attributed... Lot n° 39

Sevillian school of the seventeenth century. Attributed to JUAN DE SEVILLA ROMERO (Granada, 1643-1695). "Saint John the Baptist. Oil on canvas. It has small minor flaws in the paint, repainting and restorations. Frame with slight damage. Measurements: 78.5 x 55 cm; 87 x 62 cm (frame). This work closely follows the aesthetic precepts developed by Juan de Sevilla Romero, a Spanish Baroque painter who belonged to the Granada school of painting. He was the most direct continuator of Alonso Cano, along with Pedro de Anastasio Bocanegra, with whom he maintained a rival relationship. Thus, we are faced with a clearly baroque work, which represents St. John the Baptist penitent in the desert, seated, accompanied by the lamb and the cross of reeds, meditating. The scene follows a typical baroque scheme, closed on the left side and open to the landscape in the background on the right side. In this area we see, worked in cold and bluish tones, reflecting the distance, the meticulous representation of a city. The author, close to Juan de Sevilla, represents the beardless religious, when he usually shows long and shaggy beards. Juan de Sevilla Romero trained first with Francisco Alonso Argüello, then with Pedro de Moya, and went on to work with Alonso Cano from 1660. The influence of his master and Flemish engravings, especially Rubens, are the fundamental characteristics of his painting. From 1674 he received numerous commissions for the different churches and convents of his city, such as the two canvases of the sacristy of the convent of San Jerónimo (in situ), San Pantaleón for San Felipe Neri (Museo de Bellas Artes de Granada), Triunfo de la Eucaristía for the Augustinian nuns (in situ) and Los discípulos de Emaús del Hospital del Refugio y convento de San Antón de Granada, among others. He also worked in Cordoba and Seville, where he collaborated in the tempera decorations for the Corpus Christi celebrations. Other conserved works of his are The Holy Family (Museum of the Passion, Valladolid), the Pietà (cathedral of Seville), the Santas (National Museum of Poznam, Poland) and Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and The Rich Epulon and the Poor Lazarus (Prado, the first coming from the royal collections and the second acquired in 1928).