Pedro de Orrente

PEDRO DE ORRENTE PEDRO DE ORRENTE (Murcia, 1580 - Valencia, 1645).
"Christ and the Samaritan woman".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents restorations.
Attached report by José Manuel Gómez Frechina.
Measurements: 81 x 103 cm; 95 x 117 cm (frame).
The work is fully inscribed in the pictorial language developed by Pedro de Orrente, one of the main introducers in Spain of the naturalistic and narrative formulas of Venetian roots, especially those derived from the Bassano family, which earned him the nickname of "the Spanish Bassano". The treatment of the landscape as the active setting of the scene, the harmonious integration of human and animal figures, and the conception of the religious episode as a scene of daily life are characteristic features of the Orrentian style.
The brushstroke is loose but controlled, with special attention to the effects of light and chromatic richness, particularly in the earthy, green and ochre tones of the landscape. The composition is organized in a balanced manner, favoring narrative clarity over extreme dramatism, which coincides with Orrente's tendency to soften the hallmarks of Caravaggism in favor of a naturalism that is gentler and more accessible to the viewer.
The technical and formal characteristics point to a work made in the artist's immediate environment, probably within a well-structured workshop that repeated models and compositions devised by the master, a common circumstance given the wide demand for his production.
The episode of Christ and the Samaritan woman (John 4:5-26) was one of the favorite themes of Baroque painting due to its strong symbolic charge and narrative potential. In the work, the encounter at the well is presented as a genre scene, a common resource in Pedro de Orrente, who knew how to transform biblical passages into recognizable and familiar situations for the contemporary public.
Christ appears characterized as a walker, integrated into the natural environment, while the Samaritan woman is represented as a rural woman, accompanied by everyday objects and animals that reinforce the domestic and earthly character of the episode. This approach responds directly to Orrentian conception of sacred painting as a living narrative, populated with anecdotal details that enrich the reading of the scene and underline its human dimension.
The inclusion of the landscape, treated with breadth and depth, not only acts as a spatial framework, but also becomes a fundamental narrative element, following the Bassanesque tradition that Orrente assimilated during his stay in Venice and adapted to Spanish taste.