Tomas Yepes Circle

Circle of TOMÁS YEPES (Valencia, ca. 1610-1674).
"Still lifes".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Measurements: 35 x 24 cm (x2); 51 x 41 cm (frames, x2).
These works present two vases conceived as still lifes of dynamic and scenographic character, fully inscribed in the baroque sensibility. In both canvases a typically Spanish base is combined in the conception of the genre, centered on the direct observation of nature and the taste for the everyday elevated to the artistic, with a notable Italian influence, especially visible in the compositional richness and the theatricality of the staging, characteristic features of the Valencian school of the seventeenth century.
Tomás Yepes is considered the most outstanding still life painter of the Valencian Baroque and a key figure in the development and consolidation of this genre in this area. Although he was born around 1610, his documented artistic activity developed mainly in the second half of the century and lasted until the 1670s without any significant stylistic changes in his production. This continuity allows us to identify a language whose influence is reflected in a coherent manner in both vases.
In these compositions we can appreciate his interest in geometry and symmetry, organized through floral bouquets arranged in a radial manner, evoking solutions of the early Spanish Baroque. However, far from being rigid, the compositions acquire dynamism through the variation of heights, the curvature of the stems and the interaction between light and shadow. The flowers, carefully individualized, reveal a meticulous and precise technique that emphasizes tactile qualities: velvety petals, slightly wilted leaves or brittle stems that accentuate the naturalism.
Yepes' aesthetic language is manifested here in several distinctive features: a marked inclination for naturalism, a detailed execution and a predominantly warm chromatic range, very characteristic of the Valencian environment. Added to this is the influence of the Neapolitan still life, perceptible in the brightness and sumptuousness of certain elements, as well as a certain tenebrism in the lighting, which highlights the volumes on dark backgrounds and creates an intimate and concentrated atmosphere. In both vases, the light not only describes, but also dramatizes, guiding the viewer's gaze and giving prominence to the flowers as the true protagonists of the scene.