Ignacio de Ríes (Seville, 1616 - ?, 1670).

Ignacio de Ríes (Seville, 1616 - ?, 1670). ‘Vera Cruz’ (True Cross) Oil on canvas. 157,5 x 232 cm. Christ, with the cross on his shoulders, meets Veronica. Ignacio de Ríes, son of the Flemish painter Mateo de Ríes, was already an official in Zurbarán's workshop from 1635 onwards and was one of his most outstanding disciples. De Ríes, a painter of extreme importance and value, present in the Museo del Prado and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, presents us with a chiaroscuro scene of the meditation of this station of the "Via Dolorosa". He pays great attention to the high quality details of objects (Veronica's cloth and the pearl on her breast, the horse's head, the soldier's helmet), of clothing (the golden suit of the soldier kicking the fallen Jesus) and of fabrics and textures, such as the cloak enveloping Jesus, among other aspects. It also conveys great quality and expressiveness in faces and hands that also speak of Zurbarán's technique reflected in his works, as one of his best disciples. This painting took part in the exhibition "Teresa de Jesús: Woman, Saint and Doctor", held in Alba de Tormes between 28 March and 22 October 2022, to commemorate the fourth centenary of the canonisation of Saint Teresa de Jesús. It was organised by the Teresian Centenary Commission, the Discalced Carmelite Order and the Town Council of the municipality.