Antonio Arellano, (circa 1640, Ciudad de México... Lot n° 46

Antonio Arellano, (circa 1640, Mexico City- circa 1700) "The Slaughter of the Innocents" Oil on panel. Signed. 63 x 44,5 cm. A very famous and well-known painter in Mexico City, whose paintings can be found in the vast collection of Viceroyalty paintings in the Museum of the Basilica of Guadalupe. In this case, "the slaughter of the innocents" is an episode recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2:16-18), which consists of the supposed order of Herod, king of Judea, to kill all the children under two years of age in Bethlehem after learning of the birth of Jesus and the visit of the three wise men from the East, the Magi. In this painting by Arellano, the foreground and background scenes are fully differentiated by the treatment they receive. Italianate architecture in the background in the manner of Piranesi, and a human scenography in the foreground, predominating the composition, with the solidity and rotundity of the human figures represented. Sketchy brushstrokes reminiscent of Francken's faces and noses, but without leaving the defined details aside. A composition loaded with the bent forms of the bodies, the folds and falls of their clothes, which give a lot of dynamism to the painting. Children "from two years old and under" from Bethlehem and its region were sacrificed, according to the prophecy in Jer. 31, 15. Arellano held the highest positions in the guild of painters and gilders in Mexico City, alternating with personalities such as Cristóbal Villalpando and Juan Correa.