Flower garland with the Assumption of Mary
1654. Oil on canvas.Not on display
This garland, closed and tight, directly recalls Van der Hamen’s models, both in its arrangement and the detailing of the flowers in it. Van der Hamen seems to have been the pioneer of this genre of garlands in Spain, since his first known work was Flower garland with a landscape from 1628. When Ponce signed this large canvas in 1654, Juan de Arellano had already created another type of garland that was looser and more open. As a result, the arrangement of this one became somewhat archaic, whilst being magnificently executed.
The group of the Virgin accompanied by angels, as well as the angels that seem to hold the garland, bring up the issue of its attribution. Frequently, flower and garland painters were not the same as those of the human figures in the same composition. Juan de Arellano’s large garland, signed in 1646, has an allegorical scene by Francisco Camilo. In this case, there is no signature in the canvas other than Ponce’s, thus implying that the figures are also by him; nonetheless, this cannot be categorically affirmed. The style of the child angels and in the Virgin’s human model is typical of works produced in mid-17th-century Madrid. Some similarities with Antonio de Pereda’s circle have been pointed out, but they are far from conclusive. It rather seems closer to Mateo Gallardo’s models. As corresponds with the date, there are echoes of Flemish models in the canvas. The two angels foreshortened backwards in the foreground recall the compositions by Rubens. In 1633, Antonio Porce was reported to have owned royal portraits for sale that would eventually be withdrawn for examination purposes, as well as those from other Madrid-based artists of more humble origins. This allows us to conclude that he also practised history painting, but there is nothing conclusive out of this canvas, which remains to be a major milestone for the study of this artist.
Garín LLombart, Felipe Vicente, Un mecenas póstumo: el legado Villaescusa, Madrid, Museo del Prado, 1993, p.78-80
