4 - TOMÁS HIEPES, also known as TOMÁS YEPES (Valencia, ca. 1600–1674).

TOMÁS HIEPES, also known as TOMÁS YEPES (Valencia, ca. 1600–1674). “Still Life with a Golden Jug, Citrus Fruits, and a Seashell.” Oil on canvas. Relined. Accompanied by a historical-artistic study signed by José Gómez Frechina, an art historian specializing in Valencian Renaissance and Baroque painting, former curator of paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia, and former scientific director of Coll & Cortés/Colnaghi. In this study, dated November 21, 2019, he expressly attributes the work to Tomás Hiepes and includes it in his pictorial corpus Measurements: 68 x 84 cm; 86 x 103 cm (frame). This still life represents an interesting contribution to our understanding of the work of Tomás Hiepes, one of the leading figures in 17th-century Spanish still life painting and a key figure in the Valencian school. The work brings together some of the most recognizable characteristics of his pictorial language—compositional rigor, naturalistic precision, and mastery of material qualities—along with elements of particular uniqueness within his repertoire, such as the sumptuous Mannerist-inspired jug and the presence of an exotic seashell. In the historical-artistic study accompanying the painting, José Gómez Frechina highlights the composition’s fidelity to the artist’s customary formulas, particularly the arrangement of objects on a table parallel to the pictorial plane, covered by a rich tablecloth with geometric motifs and trimmed with gold fringe. This technique, characteristic of many of Hiepes’ still lifes, lends a sense of grandeur to the objects and allows the composition to be organized through a carefully studied balance. The central group consists of several citrons (Citrus medica), arranged on a hexagonal ceramic platter. The rendering of their rough, fleshy surfaces demonstrates the painter’s descriptive precision, which is particularly evident in the gradations of light and in the depiction of the natural irregularities of each fruit. The branches with leaves and small white flowers introduce delicate hallmarks against the compact volumes of the citrus fruits. Gómez Frechina also highlights the significance of the partially peeled fruit, whose peel hangs over the edge of the table—an illusionistic device that finds parallels in some of Juan van der Hamen’s compositions. One of the most significant elements of the painting is the Mannerist-inspired gilded jug, whose ornate decoration lends the still life a particularly sumptuous quality. Gómez Frechina links its decorative repertoire to the engraved models of Polidoro da Caravaggio, highlighting the depiction of a ritual dance by female figures, identified as maenads from the classical tradition. The presence of this object is particularly interesting because of the hallmarks it creates between the sophistication of the sumptuary arts and the naturalistic depiction of the fruits—two registers that the artist integrates through lighting in the distinct tenebrist tradition. The compositional balance is completed by a cowrie shell, belonging to the Cypraeidae family, situated at the far right. Its glossy surface and characteristic opening, edged with small teeth, allow the painter to once again demonstrate his skill in reproducing the material qualities of objects. Gómez Frechina specifically highlights the inclusion of this exotic piece as an element that balances the distribution of volumes and enriches the still life’s repertoire. The diversity of the objects depicted reveals one of Hiepes’s principal qualities: his ability to combine descriptive accuracy with a rigorous organizational structure of the composition. The distinct treatment of the pottery, gilded metal, fruit, fabric, and the pearlescent surface of the shell transforms the depiction of everyday and sumptuous objects into an exercise in pictorial virtuosity. This naturalistic precision, at times bordering on trompe-l’œil, was particularly valued by his contemporaries and constitutes one of the distinctive features of his painting. The appeal of these compositions must also be viewed within the context of 17th-century Valencia, where still life achieved remarkable popularity among a wealthy clientele. Hiepes’s reputation as a specialist in depicting fruits, flowers, and various objects is documented in contemporary accounts. The Valencian scholar Marcos Antonio de Orellana, in his *Biografía pictórica valentina*, particularly praised his ability to reproduce nature with precision and realism, noting the extraordinary esteem in which his paintings were held. José Gómez Frechina also compiles documentary evidence demonstrating the artist’s recognition during his lifetime. Among these, the description of the canvases depicting fruits and other objects created by Hiepes for the celebrations marking the bicentennial of the canonization of Saint Vincent Ferrer, held in Valencia in 1655, stands out. These commissions attest