Jerónimo de la Portilla

JERONIMO DE LA PORTILLA (Mexico, active around 1680). Following models of PETER PAUL RUBENS (Siegen, Germany, 1577 - Antwerp, Belgium, 1640).
"The Triumph of the Church".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left area.
Measurements: 58,5 x 83,5 cm.

This work is a copy of the tapestry cardboard painted by Rubens around 1625, an oil on panel of 63.5 x 105 cm currently preserved in the Museo del Prado. It is one of the works commissioned by the master for the Archduchess Isabel Clara Eugenia, a series of seventeen tapestries destined for the Monastery of the Descalzas in Madrid. Jerónimo de la Portilla changes only the chromaticism and anecdotal elements, the most notable of which is the elimination of the architectural frame of Rubens' composition. In addition, he placed a phylactery at the top that underlines the meaning of the scene represented, with the legend "Per S.S. Sacramentum Miraculosum Triumphans".

This series by Rubens is composed of allegorical images intended to exalt the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Catholic faith against heresy, in the context of the Counter-Reformation. The tapestries were woven in Brussels in the workshop of Jan II Raes between 1627 and 1637. "The Triumph of the Church" is probably one of the central themes of the set, since the resulting tapestry is the largest of all the surviving tapestries, and is also the one with the greatest thematic and compositional complexity. The scene is a triumphal procession inspired by the parades of the Roman emperors. A chariot of white horses introduces the composition from the left, preceded by several women. In the air, angelic spirits play trumpets, one of them carrying a laurel wreath and a palm. Mounted on one of the horses, a mancicle angel carries the conopeo, on which are displayed the gold and silver keys of the popes. Behind him, a cherub carries the reins of the chariot, while above him flies the dove of the Holy Spirit amidst glories of angels and splendors. On the chariot, of gold and adorned with gems, a richly dressed matron holds a large monstrance with the Eucharist. An angel holds above his head the papal tiara, indicating that he represents the Catholic Church. The chariot, in its triumphal advance, sweeps over some dark figures that appear between the wheels: Fury, Discord and Hatred. The composition is closed on the right side by two rough male figures, Blindness and Ignorance, both dominated and led back by Truth, personified by a woman holding a lighted candle on high.

A painter active in Puebla around 1680, Jerónimo de la Portilla was one of the few Tlaxcalan artists whose works were recognized. However, little is known today about his biography, only the data provided by Pérez Salazar: "on June 31, 1689, Jerónimo de la Portilla, a native of Tlaxcala, painter, son of Juan de la Portilla and Micaela Lovato, married Micaela López de Galarza in Puebla". Two of his works, "Crucifixión" and "El encuentro con las santas mujeres" are currently preserved in the Museo Universitario Casa de los Muñecos in Puebla (Mexico).