108 - Attributed to Francisco Meneses Osorio (Seville, circa 1640–1721)

Attributed to Francisco Meneses Osorio (Seville, circa 1640–1721) "Madonna and Child" Oil on canvas. 95.5 x 76 cm. In a carved and gilded period wooden frame. Frame dimensions: 104.5 x 88.5 cm. Francisco Meneses Osorio, a disciple and the most faithful follower of Murillo, was one of the “most interesting figures on the Sevillian art scene in the last third of the 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th century,” according to José Roda Peña, professor of art history at the University of Seville. His closeness to the master Murillo is evidenced, as Enrique Valdivieso states in his article for the Royal Academy of History, by “the affinity of his artistic forms with those of this master,” as well as by the commission given to Meneses, after Murillo’s death, to complete the main altarpiece of the former Church of Santa Catalina in Cádiz, part of the Capuchin Convent, as he was the artist who “could best complete the paintings in accordance with the style of the deceased master.” The collection of paintings and sculptures by Murillo and Meneses from the aforementioned church and its main altarpiece is housed in the Museum of Cádiz. There are also works by the Sevillian artist preserved in his native city, such as an important “Saint Michael the Archangel” at the Hospital de la Santa Caridad; a high-quality “Saint Joseph with the Child” (1684) and “Saint Cyril at the Council of Ephesus” (1701), both in the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts); and, among others, “Our Lady of the Forsaken of Valencia with Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Paschal Bailón” (1701), a work preserved in the Museum of the Hospital del Pozo Santo in Seville, unpublished until 1996 and published in 1999 by José Roda Peña in an article in the magazine “Laboratorio de Arte.” Outside Seville, we would highlight “La Virgen de los Reyes” (1696), in the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid, and “Cristo salvador del mundo,” at Bob Jones University in the United States. Bibliographic references: - Valdivieso, Enrique. (n.d.). “Francisco Meneses Osorio.” Royal Academy of History. https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/12652/francisco-meneses-osorio - Roda Peña, José. (1999). “An Unpublished Painting by Francisco Meneses Osorio,” in *Laboratorio de Arte* (12), 191–198. http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/LA.1999.i12.19