Mateo Cerezo

MATEO CEREZO (Burgos, 1637 - Madrid, 1666).
"Asunción".
Presents informative label on the back.
Measurements: 83.5 x 62 cm; 101 x 80 cm (frame).
The composition, of marked baroque dynamism, presents the Virgin elevated on a cloud of cherubs, wrapped in a luminous and vibrant atmosphere, constructed by means of a loose brushstroke and rich in chromatic shades. The fluidity of the color, the delicate modeling of the children's faces and the elegance of the draperies place the work in full harmony with the work of Mateo Cerezo.
The artistic quality of the canvas can be appreciated in the balance between monumentality and the masterful treatment of light, which envelops the Marian figure and organizes the scene in a wide and ascending space. The influence of Carreño de Miranda, his master, is combined here with clear echoes of Van Dyck and Venetian painting, visible in the nobility of gesture, the chromatic richness and compositional refinement.
The work follows a model of a painting by Cerezo that remained unpublished until it was made known by art historians José R. Buendía and Ismael Gutiérrez Pastor in the monograph dedicated to Mateo Cerezo published in 1986. At that time it was in a private collection in Bilbao; it later became part of the collection of the now defunct Fundación Cultural Fórum Filatélico, and was auctioned at Sotheby's (April 29, 2015), and has since been integrated into a private collection.
In addition, the painting can be aesthetically related to other great religious compositions by Cerezo preserved in public collections of reference, such as The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine in the Prado Museum, where identical resources are manifested: wide scenographies, cherubs of vibrant anatomy and a masterful synthesis between spirituality and formal splendor.
Trained in Madrid in Carreño's workshop, Mateo Cerezo was one of the most brilliant painters of his generation, much in demand for his religious painting and also recognized as an excellent still life painter. His career, cut short prematurely, left a legacy of works of extraordinary quality, among which this Inmaculada stands out.