The explorers sent by Moses return from Canaan with fruit
1668. Oil on canvas.Not on display
This is a part of a series of eighteen canvases of biblical themes related in some way to the Eucharist that Escalante painted between 1667 and 1668 for the sacristy of the Merced Calzada in Madrid. They are cited there with great praise by all classical writers. The series was completed by a canvas by Montero de Rojas, Passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant (P4697).
Palomino, in quoting them, notes that Escalante´s canvases ‘reveal his great genius and his fondness for Tintoretto and Veronese, because, in all of them, he follows that same style as regards the composition and grace of attitude.’
Indeed, the series illustrates episodes from the Old Testament, in accordance with the Eucharist. It also constitutes the most homogeneous and interesting gallery, which can provide an insight into the style of the late artist´s maturity. It is a very significant work of his style, with the aforementioned Venetian resonances and a remarkable transparency of colour.
Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E., Carreño, Rizi, Herrera y la pintura madrileña de su tiempo, Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura. Banco Herrero, 1986, p.308
