Jusepe Leonardo was born in Calatayud in 1601. He soon moved to Madrid, became a pupil of Pedro de las Cuevas and lived in his house between 1616 and 1621. While collaborating on the decoration of the Buen Retiro Palace in 1635, he was in constant contact with the court’s painters and collections, which informed him of the influence of Velázquez. His refined sensibility to colour makes him one of the most interesting artists of his generation. However, his career was unfortunately cut short due to madness in the mid-1640s, which led to his subsequent death during his stay in the Hospital of Zaragoza in 1656.

Very little is known about this painting. We know that it was acquired for the Museo Nacional de la Trinidad in 1864 through the Royal Decree of 17 May from that same year. We also know that it was valued at 10,000 reales. When the museum was dissolved, it was transferred to the Museo del Prado. The painting has been dated to the early 1840s (the artist’s most mature period) and is undoubtedly one of his finest works, as exemplified by its budding dynamism, its naturalism, and its perfect execution. From an elevated point of view, the artist creates a wide perspective that results in three shots of different depths, for each of which he employs a differentiated and particularly successful treatment of light. The first group forms a kind of circumference, which, along with more intense lighting, serves to highlight the baby Virgin. Thus, it emphasises devotion to Mary, which was quite intense in 17th-century Spain. In the midground, Saint Anne lies in bed. Meanwhile, in the background, Saint Joachim emerges, against a backlight, through a doorway, which becomes another source of light. This has led to the suggestion of a possible influence on Velázquez’s Las Meninas. Leonardo demonstrates his expertise as a colourist with bright, lively shades applied with thick, loose brushstrokes, all without neglecting the quality of the drawing. Thus, he creates figures with well-placed foreshortenings and whose particularly beautiful heads have been rightly highlighted and attributed to Velázquez’s influence. The artist is also careful to include the naturalistic details that give the scene the quality of everyday life. Two other works from this period have also been attributed to the artist. One of them is a small work, most likely a preparatory sketch, from the Marquess of La Almunia’s collection. On the contrary, the other one has a more disputed attribution (in competition with Valdés Leal) and is located at the Monastery of El Escorial.

Esplendores de Espanha de el Greco a Velázquez, Río de Janeiro, Arte Viva, 2000, p.189