1 / 8

Description

Monumental Virgin of Solitude, Juan Valdés Leal (Seville, 1622-1690) 17th century Oil on canvas. Measurements: 53 x 40 cm. Framed measurements: 71 x 58 cm. (Seville, 1622-1690). Spanish painter and printmaker. Strictly a contemporary artist of Murillo, he was his greatest pictorial rival in the Seville of his time. The comparison between both painters has been frequent, artificially encouraged by the character of the works of both: if Murillo's was seen as the very expression of the sweetness and calm, the harshness and drama of the work of Valdés Leal and, Above all, the extreme truculence of his best-known works, the vanitas of the Church of La Caridad in Seville, serve to confirm the dichotomy. But, despite the difficult character with which he appears portrayed in the sources, the truth is that Valdés Leal's work is quite varied and is in line with the painting that was done around him. We do not know when he moved to Córdoba, although he had presumably already completed his first artistic training in his hometown. There has been speculation about his approach to the workshop of Herrera the Elder, and also to the art of Antonio del Castillo from Córdoba, as possible influences for his first known signed and dated work, the San Andrés of the church of San Francisco de Córdoba, from 1647. Bibliography: Valdés Leal, cat. exp., Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1991, nos. 10, 20, 54 and 81. Provenance: important private Spanish collection.

690 
Go to lot
<
>

Monumental Virgin of Solitude, Juan Valdés Leal (Seville, 1622-1690) 17th century Oil on canvas. Measurements: 53 x 40 cm. Framed measurements: 71 x 58 cm. (Seville, 1622-1690). Spanish painter and printmaker. Strictly a contemporary artist of Murillo, he was his greatest pictorial rival in the Seville of his time. The comparison between both painters has been frequent, artificially encouraged by the character of the works of both: if Murillo's was seen as the very expression of the sweetness and calm, the harshness and drama of the work of Valdés Leal and, Above all, the extreme truculence of his best-known works, the vanitas of the Church of La Caridad in Seville, serve to confirm the dichotomy. But, despite the difficult character with which he appears portrayed in the sources, the truth is that Valdés Leal's work is quite varied and is in line with the painting that was done around him. We do not know when he moved to Córdoba, although he had presumably already completed his first artistic training in his hometown. There has been speculation about his approach to the workshop of Herrera the Elder, and also to the art of Antonio del Castillo from Córdoba, as possible influences for his first known signed and dated work, the San Andrés of the church of San Francisco de Córdoba, from 1647. Bibliography: Valdés Leal, cat. exp., Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1991, nos. 10, 20, 54 and 81. Provenance: important private Spanish collection.

Estimate 15 000 - 18 000 EUR
Starting price 6 500 EUR

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

Sale fees: 26.62 %
Leave bid
Register

For sale on Thursday 25 Jul : 16:00 (CEST)
barcelona, Spain
Templum Fine art Auction
+34935643445
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.

You may also like

Spanish school; 17th century. "Immaculate Conception". Oil on canvas. It presents faults. Measurements: 182 x 118 cm; 203 x 137 cm (frame). Inscribed in a golden break of Glory, the figure of the Virgin is arranged as the Immaculate Conception. Placed on a pedestal created by clouds to which three small angels cling, the figure of the Virgin stands upright, monumental. She is facing the viewer, but her face is raised and slightly shifted to the left, looking out at something outside the pictorial composition. Despite this, her serene face and pious attitude with one hand on her chest indicate that she is addressing God, establishing direct contact with him and not with the viewer. A viewer to whom she is presented in a regal manner, thanks to her dominant position in the composition, her bearing and the monumentality of her forms, situated under the representation of the Holy Spirit, as queen of heaven and of Christianity. Aesthetically, the work is very close to the stylistic patterns created by Murillo. The 17th century saw the arrival of the Baroque in the Sevillian school, with the triumph of naturalism over Mannerist idealism, a loose style and many other aesthetic liberties. At this time the school reached its greatest splendour, both in terms of the quality of its works and the primordial status of Sevillian Baroque painting. Thus, during the transition to the Baroque period, we find Juan del Castillo, Antonio Mohedano and Francisco Herrera el Viejo, whose works already display the rapid brushstrokes and crude realism of the style, and Juan de Roelas, who introduced Venetian colourism. The middle of the century saw the fullness of the period, with figures such as Zurbarán, a young Alonso Cano and Velázquez. Finally, in the last third of the century we find Murillo and Valdés Leal, founders in 1660 of an Academy where many of the painters active during the first quarter of the 18th century were trained, such as Meneses Osorio, Sebastián Gómez, Lucas Valdés and others.