Description

MAESTRO ALEJO (Hacia 1490-1530)Oración en el huertoPalencia, 1515-1525

Oil on panel. 96,5 x 64 cm (slightly warped). PROVENANCE: Private collection, France. The panel shows the Prayer in the Garden, which in the Gospel account (Mt 26:36-46; Mk 14:32-42; Lk 22:39-46) occurs immediately after the Lord's Supper and before the Arrest or Kiss of Judas. In the center of the composition, we see Jesus kneeling, surrounded by rocks and trees that freely reproduce the olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane. He wears a dark tunic and cloak, in shades of brown and gray, revealing one of his bare feet. The cloak has a simple golden border, made in gold applied by mordanting, the same technique that the artist used for the flordelisado nimbus of Christ. Jesus directs his gaze to the upper part, where an angel appears to him amidst scalloped clouds carrying the chalice and the cross, allusions to the passion to come. The presence of the angel follows the text of Luke (Lk 22:43), where it is mentioned that Christ, praying on his knees, is visited by an angel who strengthens him. In the foreground, three apostles, two of them are easily identifiable: Peter, who holds a sword in his left hand, and St. John the Evangelist, who rests placidly in the lap of his companion, partially covered by his cloak. The third apostle, James the Greater, appears with his back turned and without visible attributes, but we know his identity thanks to the Gospel texts. His position is similar to that of the same saint in the Prayer in the Garden of the altarpiece of the church of San Lázaro de Palencia, work of Juan de Flandes (Museo Nacional del Prado), and in the same scene of San Pedro de Montealegre (Valladolid), work of the Maestro Benito. The three apostles have delicate golden nimbuses, made with the same technique as that of Christ. Santiago and Pedro wear blue tunics and red cloaks with golden trim, while Juan wears a dark green tunic. The painter paid special attention to the representation of the vegetation and the small rocks distributed on the ground. In the background, a large fence of intertwined wickerwork encloses the garden of Gethsemane. Under a canopy, a small gate opens to give way to a crowd of soldiers equipped with spears and pikes, led by Judas, the betraying apostle, highlighted by his bright yellow clothing. In the background, a landscape and the walls of Jerusalem are tinged with blue, twilight connotations that harmonize with the greenish clouds in the sky. All the characters, including Christ, have characteristic faces with rough and marked features, rosy cheeks and globular eyes. The hands reflect the work of the skilled and detailed master, who also takes pleasure in the vegetation and natural surroundings, such as the moss on the rock in the upper left. The brightness and nuances in the leaves of the trees, especially the one to the left of Jesus, also stand out. The composition has a pyramidal scheme, with the angelic apparition at the top. Alberto Velasco attributes this panel to the painter Maestro Alejo, based on the stylistic characteristics: expressiveness in the faces, bulging and globular eyes, large and rectilinear noses, fleshy and red lips, rounded and rosy cheeks, broad foreheads, remarkable gestures, delicate hands and brightly colored clothing with broken folds. Master Alexius is known for a signed panel depicting the Prophet Moses, preserved in the Josep Gudiol collection, which helped establish his identity and catalog. His works, previously attributed to the Master of Sirga, include altarpieces in the church of Santa María la Blanca in Villalcázar de Sirga (Palencia) dedicated to the Virgin and Saint Anthony of Padua. The Prayer in the Garden in the altarpiece of the Virgin is similar to the work presented, with iconographic details such as Judas holding the bag of coins and wearing yellow. Another Prayer in the Garden with similarities is that of the altarpiece of San Miguel de Melgar de Arriba (Valladolid), where Christ and the apostles receive a similar treatment, and the rocky and vegetal elements are represented in an analogous way. The painter follows Martin Schongauer's engraving on the same subject, although with modifications, possibly known through intermediaries. This engraving influenced Castilian painters of the late 15th and early 16th centuries, such as Fernando Gallego and his workshop. We do not know the altarpiece to which this panel belonged, but it may have been part of an altarpiece painted around 1520, along with The Dormition in a private collection, The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple in the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia, and Jesus before the Doctors of the Law in a private collection in Valencia, all 98 x 80 cm, which does not differ too much from the panel we present and with a similar style. The authorship

Automatically translated by DeepL. The original version is the only legally valid version.
To see the original version, click here.

767 
Go to lot
<
>

MAESTRO ALEJO (Hacia 1490-1530)Oración en el huertoPalencia, 1515-1525

No estimate
Starting price 30 000 EUR

* Not including buyer’s premium.
Please read the conditions of sale for more information.

Sale fees: 21 %
Leave bid
Register

For sale on Thursday 20 Jun : 17:30 (CEST)
madrid, Spain
Alcalá Subastas
+34915778797
Browse the catalogue Sales terms Sale info

Delivery to
Change delivery address
Delivery is not mandatory.
You may use the carrier of your choice.
The indicated price does not include the price of the lot or the auction house's fees.