The Holy Family

Mid-XVIIcentury. Oil on canvas.
Not on display

This is a loose copy of a painting housed in the Monastery of El Escorial, where Father Santos referred to it in 1658 as hanging in the ‘old’ church. There is another work on the same subject in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux that is attributed to either Paolo Caliari Veronese’s workshop or to his brother Benedetto.

The painting came from the Royal Collections, but after it entered the Museo del Prado in 1857, it was attributed to Escalante. It is quite a convincing claim given his well-known admiration for Veronese, the models he introduced into his version and the technique used. In fact, we can see that his models are of Canesque lineage; the application of colour suggests a close relationship with this master from Granada.

The El Escorial work portrays an interior scene in which the infant Saint John offers the sleeping Child an apple and Saint Joseph’s rod is very visible. Escalante’s version extends upwards, and at the top of the painting a heavenly radiance illuminates two pairs of angels and seraphim. The analysis of this work suggests that the top of the one at El Escorial was cut off at some point.

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Technical data

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Inventory number: P000695
Author: Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante
Title: The Holy Family
Date: Mid-XVII century
Technique: Oil
Support: Canvas
Dimension: Width: 45.5 cm; Height: 54.5 cm
Provenance: Royal Collection

Bibliography +

Noul, M., Sotomayor, F., Muguruza, P., Les chefs-d'oeuvre du Musée du Prado, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Ginebra, 1939, pp. nº169.

Ruiz Manero, J.M, Observaciones sobre algunas obras de Pablo Veronés y de sus seguidores en España, Archivo español de arte, LXXIX, 1940, pp. 43-60.

Noticias. Levantamiento definitivo de depósitos, Boletín del Museo del Prado, X, 28, 1989, pp. 125.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo del Prado: inventario general de pinturas (I) La Colección Real, Museo del Prado, Espasa Calpe, Madrid, 1990.

Urrea, Jesús, Pintores del reinado de Felipe IV, Museo del Prado-Caja de Ahorros de Navarra, Madrid, 1994, pp. 92.

Delgado Martínez, Natalia, Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante (1633-1669), Fundación Universitaria Española, Madrid, 2001, pp. 265.

Other inventories +

Inv. Real Museo, 1857. Núm. 185.
Escalante (juan antonio) / 185. Sacra familia / Alto 1 pie, 11 pulg; ancho 1 pie, 7 pulg, 6 lin / Inventario de 1857, nº 185

Catálogo Museo del Prado, 1872-1907. Núm. 711.
711.-Sacra Familia / Alto 0,54. Ancho 0,46.-Lienzo. / Contempla la Virgen con religioso amor, juntas las manos, al niño Dios dormido y echado sobre un paño blanco y sobre su propio manto; y San José acerca cariñosamente al párvulo precursor para que bese á Jesus la mano. Varios ángeles ocupan la parte superior del cuadro.

Inscriptions +

Nº 433 J Escalante
Inscribed. Frame, back

796 [3 veces]
Inscribed in pen and ink. Frame, back

Dirección General de Bellas Artes / del Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia / COMISARIA GENERAL DE EXPOSICIONES / (MUSEO ESPAÑOL DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEO) / EXPOSICION: SAN JOSE EN / EL ARTE ESPAÑOL
Scrap of paper. Stretcher

185.
Inscribed in gray. Front, lower left corner

M.N.PRADO / 00695
On metallic tablet. Stretcher

J. A. DE FRIAS ESCALANTE / "Sagrada Familia" / M 64.7 x 45.8 cms / DEPOSITO DEL MUSEO / DEL PRADO O.M 9-IV-70 / 695 / Int.1987
Scrap of paper. Stretcher

Nº 695
Scrap of paper. Stretcher

Nº 695
Scrap of paper. Frame, back

Sagrada familia
Inscribed. Frame, back