Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "San Juan and San Juanito". Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents repainting. Measurements: 59,5 x 46 cm. In this canvas the author represents Saint John the Baptist and the Infant Jesus, following a naturalistic treatment of the infants brimming with tenderness. The Infant Jesus, standing in profile to the viewer, directs his hand towards the face of his cousin, Saint John, who kneels in front of him. The scene is completed by a lamb in the lower right-hand corner, which alludes to the figure of Christ as the Good Shepherd and to that of Saint John the Baptist. The latter, who is depicted as a child, older than Jesus, has all the elements typical of his iconography, such as the lamb's skin, the red cloak, alluding to his martyrdom, the baptismal bowl, and the cross of reeds with the phylactery, on which the word Ecce can be seen, alluding to the phrase Ecce Agnus Dei. Both children are endowed with plump, sensual forms, which are enhanced by the iridescent lighting that emphasises the softness of the flesh tones. The depiction of Juanito and Jesús as infants is a very common image in the history of art, which has been particularly popular since the Counter-Reformation. Thus, although the figures are clearly identified, the scene is treated as a family theme, with two young children bathed in love, their busts silhouetted against an idealised landscape with mist on the horizon. The Good Shepherd is a biblical allegory, originally referring to Yahweh and later to Jesus Christ. The good shepherd is interpreted as God, who saves the lost sheep (the sinner). The theme appears in the Old Testament, and in the Gospels the same allegory is applied to Jesus as the Son of God. Antonio Castillo is the painter considered the father of the Cordovan school, and was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work and in his last years introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master.