8 - JUAN VAN DER HAMEN Y LEÓN (Madrid, 1596–1631).

JUAN VAN DER HAMEN Y LEÓN (Madrid, 1596–1631). “Large Fruit Bowl with Pears, Pomegranates, and Flowers,” ca. 1622–1623. Oil on canvas. Relined. Accompanied by a historical-artistic study by Ignacio González Panicello, an art historian and restorer specializing in old master paintings, signed in Madrid on June 10, 2024, in which he expressly attributes the work to Juan van der Hamen y León. The research supports this conclusion through a stylistic and comparative study of the artist’s signed works, particularly the *Large Fruit Bowl with Pomegranates and Hanging Bunches of Grapes* from 1622, held in the Juan Abelló Collection. Measurements: 34 x 49 cm; 63.5 x 77 cm (frame). This still life, expressly attributed to Juan van der Hamen y León by Ignacio González Panicello, is an interesting example of one of the most characteristic and highly regarded styles of the great 17th-century Madrid still-life master: compositions dominated by sumptuous, Italian-inspired fruit bowls. Its particular significance lies in its close relationship to the artist’s signed and dated works from 1621 to 1623, as well as in the art-historical research that has identified specific parallels with some of his most significant paintings. The study dates the painting to around 1622–1623, a particularly significant period in the consolidation of Van der Hamen’s pictorial language and in the development of a type of still life that would become widely popular in Madrid’s court circles. One of the main arguments for its attribution is its relationship to the *Large Fruit Bowl with Pomegranates and Hanging Bunches of Grapes*, signed and dated by Van der Hamen in 1622 and held in the Juan Abelló Collection. González Panicello analyzes both paintings through photographic comparisons and superimpositions of the compositions, identifying particularly significant similarities in the arrangement and morphology of certain fruits. Three of the pears depicted in this painting are virtually identical to those used in the composition from the Abelló collection, highlighting the use of a shared repertoire of pictorial elements. The research also highlights the correspondences between the open pomegranate and the small flowers on the windowsill, motifs that appear in both works with slight variations in arrangement. Of particular significance is the study of the large ornamental fruit bowl, one of the most recognizable motifs in Van der Hamen’s repertoire during the early 1620s. It is a vessel inspired by Italian Mannerism, likely modeled after a sumptuous object with a gilded structure and a bowl made of Venetian glass or hardstone. Its presence in numerous compositions by the artist reflects the courtly clientele’s interest in luxury objects and the painter’s ability to incorporate them into still lifes of great formal sophistication. The study identifies two decorative variants of this model, distinguished by the ornamentation of their borders. This painting belongs to the group characterized by intertwined scrollwork, the same motif that appears in the still life from the Abelló Collection dated 1622 and in another composition signed and dated 1623. This correspondence constitutes one of the arguments used by the researcher to establish the proposed chronology. Another detail noted by González Panicello is the whitish reflection appearing on the surface of the vessel, interpreted as a window divided into four panes. This same effect recurs in other still lifes by Van der Hamen, a circumstance that allows us to link the various compositions to a common lighting arrangement or to the reuse of models developed in his workshop. The repetition of this technique highlights the importance the painter placed on depicting material qualities, particularly the effects of light on metallic and glazed surfaces—one of the aspects that helped cement his reputation as a specialist in the genre. The painting is also significant for its small format and the refinement of its composition. In contrast to the large still lifes in which Van der Hamen combined fruit bowls with an abundance of foodstuffs, game, sweets, and other sumptuous objects, here he focuses the attention on a single vessel accompanied by a limited number of elements. González Panicello specifically highlights the uniqueness of the selection of fruits—consisting of pears and apples with similar chromatic and formal characteristics—a combination that is uncommon among the artist’s known compositions. This economy of means allows us to appreciate a particularly balanced conception of the still life, in which pictorial quality and overall harmony take precedence over the accumulation of objects. The study contextualizes this distinctive feature within the extraordinary demand for Van der Hamen’s still lifes in the Madrid of Philip IV. The success of his compositions fostered the development of a workshop capable of producing works of varying si