Spanish school, late 16th - early 17th century.

Spanish school, late 16th - early 17th century.
"Saint Matthew". Based on an engraving by HENDRICK GOLTZIUS (Bracht, 1558 - Haarlem, 1617).
Oil on canvas.
Needs restoration.
Measurements: 103,5 x 82 cm; 126 x 103,5 cm (frame).
Representation of half a body of Saint Matthew Apostle, based on the engraving of Hendrick Goltzius included in the series "Christ, the twelve apostles and Saint Paul" (also known as "The short Creed", because each print was accompanied by a verse of the Creed). This painting, with its tenebrist lighting and Mannerist style, follows Goltzius's model in its dramatic gestures and broad canon, but the face is more idealised and less aged than in the model. The Caravaggist imprint can be seen in the palette. Goltzius gave special prominence to the hands, furrowed with veins, as well as to the musculature, making tendons visible. A melting pot of influences converged in his painting: Michelangelo, Raphael? but also classical statuary, which the Dutch engraver had studied in depth in the Vatican collection.
Hendrick Goltzius was a Dutch draughtsman, engraver and painter. Considered the best Netherlandish engraver of Nordic Mannerism, he is renowned for his sophisticated technique and the "exuberance" of his compositions. Goltzius formed his style in the tastes of Mannerism, of which Haarlem was a stronghold until later. This was influenced by the painter and theorist Karel van Mander, who had moved to Haarlem from Vienna, bringing with him designs by Bartholomeus Spranger, the leading Mannerist painter outside Italy. In Rome Goltzius carefully studied the art of Michelangelo, Raphael Sanzio and lesser-known masters such as Polidoro da Caravaggio. Goltzius engraved six planetary Gods that Polidoro had painted in a palace in the Quirinal. His style evolved towards a more restrained classicism, presenting the figures in larger clothes and with more relaxed expressions. He was a meticulous yet productive printmaker. Among his early series is a series on Christ and the Apostles (1589), called The Creed. Around 1594 he created a series of six large plates on the life of the Virgin, for which he went back almost a century to imitate six different masters, including Dürer, Parmigianino, Titian and Lucas van Leyden. These engravings were so admired that they were nicknamed "Meisterstiche" (masterly engravings).