Francisco Zorrilla

FRANCISCO ZORRILLA Y LUNA (Haro, 1679-1747).
"Saint Sylvester baptizing the emperor Constantine".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents inscription.
Measurements: 38.5 x 99.5 cm; 53.5 x 115 cm (frame).
The canvas represents the legendary episode of the baptism of the emperor Constantine by the pope Saint Sylvester I, a matter of great symbolic transcendence for the Church, since it alludes to the conversion of the imperial power to Christianity and to the spiritual legitimization of the Roman Empire. The scene is articulated as a complex ceremonial apparatus: on the right side, the pontiff, dressed in rich liturgical vestments and surrounded by cardinals and dignitaries, administers the sacrament to the kneeling emperor; on the left, a military and courtly procession, with harnessed horses and banners, underlines the political dimension of the event. The classical architectural display, open to the landscape, functions as a scenographic frame that enhances the solemn and public nature of the event. From the stylistic point of view, the work responds to the assumptions of Madrid's late Baroque style: frieze composition with marked spatial depth, hallmarks of light that direct attention to the sacramental focus and a taste for detailed narration. The brushstroke, loose and vibrant in the backgrounds, becomes more precise in the main figures, accentuating the visual hierarchy. The chromatism, dominated by intense reds, golds and bright whites, refers to the decorative language inherited from Giordano and the court tradition of the late seventeenth century. Since 1886 this painting is known to have been included by Vicente Poleró in his Treatise on Painting in general, where it is recorded as ZORRILLA (Francisco), ft.: "The above signature has been copied from a painting representing San Silvestre.
Francisco Zorrilla y Luna, painter born in Haro (La Rioja) and active mainly in Madrid in the first decades of the 18th century, was formed in the artistic environment of the capital in the transition from the dynasty of the Austrias to the Bourbons, Zorrilla developed his career under the decisive influence of Luca Giordano, whose imprint left a lasting mark on the Madrid painting for its compositional dynamism, its warm chromaticism and its scenographic theatricality.
Zorrilla y Luna's career confirms his insertion in Madrid's artistic circles. Established in the capital before 1700, he maintained a drawing academy in his own home, frequented by artists such as Francisco Antonio Meléndez, in a context prior to the founding of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.