Circle of JOSEFA DE AYALA Y CABRERA (Seville,... Lot n° 3

Circle of JOSEFA DE AYALA Y CABRERA (Seville, 1634 - Óbidos, Portugal, 1684), 17th century. "Salome with the head of the Baptist". Oil on canvas. Relined. With repainting and restorations. Measurements: 110 x 88 cm. This work drinks from the influence of Josefa de Ayala of the tenebrist naturalism that characterized the paternal style, but developing its own personality reflecting a particular poetic intuition, with a loose palette and free of academic impositions, stopping in the detail of the decorative elements that populate his canvases. The piece shows Salome, Idumean princess daughter of Herodias and wife of Herod Philip I, carrying on a tray the decapitated head of St. John the Baptist, illustrating a Gospel passage narrated by Matthew (14:1-11) and Mark (6: 22-28). It is a three-quarter composition, with the lady richly attired in the fashion of the time, set against a background of clouds. Josefa de Ayala, also known as Josefa de Óbidos, is the most renowned painter of the second half of the 17th century in Portugal. Her father, Baltasar Gómez Figueira, went to Seville around 1626, when Portugal and Spain were unified. He began working in the workshop of Francisco Herrera the Elder, Josefa's future godfather, with whom he shared the first years of his life before returning to Óbidos, his father's hometown. Josefa decided to dedicate herself to painting, beginning to work with her father. One of the first genres they developed and thanks to which they gained fame and fortune were still lifes, as it was a subject that was not practiced in Portugal and turned out to be a fantastic commercial success. He had a deep relationship with the ecclesiastical sphere which facilitated the commissioning of numerous works in churches and convents. His fame continued to grow following the commission of the famous portraits he carried out of the royal family. During 2015 the Museum of Ancient Art of Lisbon exhibited an exhibition dedicated to this great artist as the architect of the invention of the Portuguese Baroque, emphasizing her importance as one of the few outstanding painters in the history of modern art.