Antonio José Estruch Martínez

ANTONIO JOSÉ ESTRUCH MARTÍNEZ (Valencia, 1835 - 1907)."Tobias and the Angel", 1887.Oil on panel.Signed in the lower left corner. Signed and dated on the back.Size: 27 x 20 cm, 42 x 35.5 cm (frame).Situated in a landscape, two figures appear in the foreground: a winged, luxuriously dressed figure and, next to him, a young man in more humble clothes. The painting shows the moment before Tobias, following the angel's instructions, prepares to cut out the heart and entrails of a huge fish to cure his father's blindness (Book of Tobit: VII, 15). According to the biblical passage, the scene in which Tobias and Raphael stop at Lake Tiberias, where Tobias catches the fish that will cure his father's blindness, takes place at sunset. And it is precisely the fishing event that is depicted in most paintings, this one being somewhat exceptional in that it does not depict the fish or the river, but rather the moment beforehand. The golden light of the sunset can be appreciated, reflected in the left area of the composition, where the landscape is open to the horizon. Aesthetically, the clarity of the tones used by the artist, who works with a range of pastel colours, as can be seen in the cloak of Saint Raphael. The work is also notable for its smooth, harmonious features, which indicate that it is a 19th-century aesthetic.The author of the work is José Estruch, who trained at the Academy of San Carlos, completing his studies in Italy, where he travelled after finishing his Fine Arts degree in order to find a more international and cosmopolitan training. It was there that Estruch copied paintings by great Renaissance masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer and Raphael, among others. This trip to Italy led to a situation in which he did not quite define his style and this resulted in an even more solitary character. Even so, he continued to copy "Madonnas" by Raphael. In 1877, he won a silver medal with his "Guillem de Vinatea", which prompted him to seek popularity outside Valencia. He travelled to Madrid, where a year later he spontaneously painted "17 cabezas en los urinarios del Buen Retiro de Madrid" (17 heads in the urinals of the Buen Retiro in Madrid), in which he depicted the vices and virtues of society. Unfortunately, Estruch decided not to confess to being the author.He devoted his time to religious works and commissions, as well as working mainly on portraits. Around 1864, he continued to produce works on religious themes inspired by the Renaissance artist Juan de Juanes, including a Saviour, an oil painting on panel that is kept in the Museo Nacional del Prado although it came from the Church of Fuente la Higuera in Valencia, and a Holy Family, also oil on panel, which is now in Huesca. The painter was forced to remain in Valencia and work in this artistic style as he had not yet found his own personal style. Three years later, at the age of 32, Estruch discovered Goya's engravings and was surprised to see those carefree representations, as well as appreciating the Aragonese painter's courageous way of expressing indignation, this interior scene being an example of his influence. In the years that followed he continued to take on numerous portrait commissions while drawing and admiringly capturing the Goyaesque style he had come to know in the famous engravings.