Workshop of PEDRO DE ORRENTE (Murcia, 1580 - Valencia,... Lot n° 45

Workshop of PEDRO DE ORRENTE (Murcia, 1580 - Valencia, 1645). "Pastoral scene for passage of the Old Testament". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 57 x 69 cm; 76.5 x 88 cm (frame). During his stay in Venice, Pedro de Orrente must not only have learned the pictorial manners of the Bassano family, but he would also assume their conception of painting as a market-oriented activity. In this sense, the treatment of sacred themes as genre scenes would be fundamental. These were, above all, lively series of biblical stories with which the fans could be flattered by the variety and dynamism of the works, populated by a large number of characters set in landscapes, and accompanied by all kinds of animals and everyday objects. In the present work we seem to recognize David by the harp resting at his side, but he is represented as a shepherd with his sheep. This is a workshop work by the painter Pedro de Orrente. Known as "the Spanish Bassano", Pedro Orrente was an artist of great success in his time, admired as a follower of the formulas of the famous family of artists of Venice, especially in the realization of series of Old Testament themes set in lush landscapes. He lived in several Spanish cities, moving at a very young age from his native Murcia to Toledo, where he was already in 1600. If the fame of the Bassano's works was enormous throughout Spain, the climate in the Castilian city must have been especially receptive to his painting, as evidenced by the works of the best masters who worked there. It is not surprising, therefore, that Orrente, who shortly afterwards would travel to Italy, went to Venice, where we find him as early as 1605. It is quite reasonable to think that he passed through the workshop of Leandro Bassano, whom Jusepe Martínez catalogued as his master. In 1607 he is already back in Spain, installed in Murcia. He continued to visit other Spanish cities, especially Toledo and Valencia, although he must have also spent time in Madrid. During his stay in Venice, he must not only have learned the pictorial manners of the Bassano family, but he would also assume their conception of painting as a market-oriented activity. Contemporary inventories cite a large number of works by Orrente, so we deduce that in order to produce such a large output, the painter must have had a very well-constituted workshop, which repeated the models established by the master. This circumstance also explains the enormous differences in quality that can be found in the catalogued works of this artist. But, although he was already noted in ancient sources for his Bassanesque canvases, Orrente also demonstrated his expertise and versatility in other types of work. Having had first-hand knowledge of the creations of the great Venetian masters, he knew how to adopt the teachings of Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese for his works. In addition, his more than possible passage through Rome would place him in a privileged situation to know in all its apogee the development of the Caravaggist painting and the interest for naturalism, characteristics that he knew how to add to his own works. Works by Pedro Orrente are currently kept in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage of St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna, the Metropolitan of New York, the Fine Arts Museums of Bilbao and Valencia and the National Gallery of Denmark, among many others.