Juan Pedro López (Caracas, Venezuela, 1724 - 1787)

Juan Pedro López (Caracas, Venezuela, 1724 - 1787) "Inmaculate Conception with angels" Oil on canvas. 90,5 x 56 cm. Although he enjoyed great recognition during his lifetime, Juan Pedro López fell into oblivion after his death as a result of the heavy political turbulence the country went through during the 19th century. His work was even considered anonymous, as he was known simply as "el Caraqueño" or "the painter of big-headed children". From the 1960s onwards, thanks to the work of critics of the stature of Alfredo Boulton and Carlos Federico Duarte, López was rescued and revalued as a central figure in the development of Venezuelan colonial art, and he is considered one of the most important artists of Venezuela's colonial period. As a painter, sculptor and gilder he illuminated the sombre art of his time with the light and grace of Hispano-American Rococo, the style to which the master is related. Much of Juan Pedro López's work was of a religious nature, in keeping with the tastes and fashions of the time. His iconography was far removed from the dramatic and tragic aspects customary at the time, and he focused on the production of humorous and cheerful images that were more appealing to the parishioners. One of the first important paintings with which this master ventured into pictorial art was the commission in 1752 for sixteen paintings grouped under the title "History of the Life of the Virgin" at the request of the confraternity of Nuestra Señora de Guía in the church of San Mauricio, to be displayed on the main altar. The importance of this group of paintings is due to the fact that they bring together "all the formulas, scenes and typology of the characters to be found throughout his oeuvre" (Duarte Carlos). In addition to paintings, Juan Pedro López also produced sculptural pieces, and at the same time as both practices, he received requests for the restoration of paintings and sculptures, retouching, modifications, additions, among others. As a curious fact, another activity carried out by López was the painting of candles that were used in ecclesiastical rituals, which was very common at that time. Master Juan Pedro López was one of the few artists in all of Latin America who made his own frames. We can compare this canvas with the series of Archangels in the Cathedral of Caracas, with Our Lady of Carmen from the Cisneros collection and with the Virgin of the Rosary from the Roberto García de la Concha collection.