Spanish or Italian school; 17th century.

Spanish or Italian school; XVII century.
"The Lazarillo of Tormes".
Oil on canvas.
It presents faults, punctures and damages caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 72 x 59 cm.
The Spanish painting of the XVII century is characterized by its deep connection with the social reality of the time, and this work that represents El Lazarillo de Tormes robbing the blind man, while he looks directly to the spectator, is inscribed with force in the costumbrista and picaresque tradition of the Spanish baroque school. This hypothetical scene, rich in symbolic and social content, would embody an exceptional synthesis between literature and painting, visually capturing one of the most emblematic moments of the foundational novel of the picaresque genre.
In the composition, the lazarillo appears in the foreground, with his face turned towards the viewer, establishing a direct visual link that questions and engages the observer. This complicit gaze reinforces the morally ambiguous nature of the character, who acts with cunning to survive in a world marked by misery and inequality.
This pictorial moment transcends the mere literary anecdote to become a powerful allegory of Golden Age Spain: a deeply stratified society, where daily survival was mediated by cunning and necessity. The representation of the lazarillo as the central figure reveals the Baroque fascination with the social margins, with minor characters who nonetheless carry a profound truth about the human condition.
From the stylistic point of view, the work would be inscribed in the tenebrist naturalism characteristic of the Spanish school of painting of the seventeenth century, with clear influences of artists such as José de Ribera or Velázquez in their early stages. The treatment of light, aimed at highlighting the faces and hands of the characters, would accentuate the dramatic tension of the scene, while the details of the costumes, objects and the environment would denote a rigorous interest in the costumbrismo and fidelity to the everyday environment.