In 1612 Juan Bautista Maíno signed a contract with the Dominicans of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo to execute the altar piece for the high altar of the church. The structure of the altar was designed by the architect Juan Bautista Monegro, and was to include ten paintings. Of these, four are to be large-format depictions of four of the principal episodes in the life of Christ: the two Adorations, that of the Shepherds and the Magi, the Resurrection and Pentecost. Key images within Catholicism, they were collectively known as the “Cuatro Pascuas” and correspond to the liturgical feasts of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost. Aditionally there are four figures of saints in landscapes, paintings that reflect the rise of landscape painting in Rome in the early seventeenth century. Finally, the altar piece terminated on each side at the top with depictions of Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena. The importance of this commission indicates the level of prestige that Maíno had achieved a year after moving to Toledo following his return from Rome. The four large canvases betray Maíno’s commitment to complete them “as perfectly as possible”. All the compositions take into account the specific location of each scene and the sculptural elements of the altar piece.

The innovative nature of Maíno’s altar piece must have attracted widespread attention in Toledo. The monumental style, use of colour, pictorial technique and design of each composition directly looked to the most avant-garde Italian painting of the day. The four large canvases are particularly Caravaggesque, most notably in the naturalism and illumination of the figures, as well as in their bold physicalness.

 

Maíno completed the commission in 1614, fourteen months later than agreed. This delay may be explained by the technical complexity of the paintings, particularly the four principal canvases, and by the fact that he entered the Dominican order himself.

 

Maíno lived in San Pedro Mártir for several years and produced further works for the church. The most important is undoubtedly the series of mural paintings. The wall arches that flank the high altar have depictions of the Four Cardinal Virtues: Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Fortitude. Below the choir, adjacent to the door of the church, Maíno painted an exaltation of the Virgin as the Regina angelorum, represented by a wooden sculpture by Giraldo de Merlo, surrounded by musical angels and majestic images of Aaron and Moses. These murals can be dated to between 1620 and 1624.