Spanish school of the XIX century. Follower of MATEO CEREZO

Spanish school of the XIX century. Follower of MATEO CEREZO (Burgos, 1637 - Madrid, 1666).
"Calvary".
Oil on copper.
Frame of the XIX century.
Measurements: 84 x 105 cm; 99 x 122 cm (frame).
This copper shows the Crucifixion with the Virgin, Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist. In Western art, the representation of Christ on the cross was preferred, as a narrative scene, and the figure of St. John the Baptist was replaced by that of John the Evangelist. An image that in its conception and form is the result of the expression of the people and the deepest feelings that nestled in it. With the economy of the State broken, the nobility in decline and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, the parishes and the confraternities of clerics and laymen who promoted its development, the works sometimes being financed by popular subscription. Painting was thus forced to capture the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when the Counter-Reformation doctrine demanded from art a realistic language so that the faithful would understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. The religious subject is, therefore, the preferred theme of Spanish sculpture of this period, which in the first decades of the century began with a priority interest in capturing the natural, to progressively intensify throughout the century the expression of expressive values, which is achieved through the movement and variety of gestures, the use of light resources and the representation of moods and feelings.

Mateo Cerezo was trained in Madrid, becoming part of Carreño's workshop. He was an artist in great demand by a varied clientele, especially for his religious painting, although he also tackled other genres. In this sense, the treatise writer and biographer Palomino declared the excellence with which he painted "bodegoncillos, with such superior excellence, that no one surpassed him", a judgment fully corroborated when contemplating the works in the National Museum of San Carlos in Mexico, which are signed and dated. Based on them, Perez Sanchez attributed to him the still life of kitchen bought by the Prado Museum in 1970, a work of obvious Flemish influence that, at times, has led to think of Pereda. The works of this artist from Valladolid have also been pointed out as Cerezo's ancestors, especially in his early creations. We know that in 1659 Cerezo was working in Valladolid, where he left works that were somewhat rougher than those he produced in the following decade. In his works he affirms himself as a faithful follower of Carreño, of whom he became one of his best collaborators. The master showed him the path he himself later followed, following the path of Van Dyck and Titian. Thus, Cerezo develops compositions that open up in wide and complex scenographies, conceived with a distinguished refinement, which is manifested both in the work as a whole and in the smallest details. Like the master of Antwerp, he endows his characters with a rich magnificence in their clothing, applying a fluid and light brushstroke, contrasted by a rich play of light. A superb example of all this is the canvas The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine in the Prado, signed and dated 1660.