The Resurrection of Christ
Second third of the XVI century. Tempera on pine panel.On display elsewhere
Christ returned to life, triumphant alongside the sarcophagus that held his body for three days after his death on Golgotha, was a frequent subject in Correa´s work. The retable for the convent of the Poor Clares in Griñon (Madrid), dated around 1532-1534, shaped its essential compositional structure, with Christ at the center over a stone staircase bearing the sarcophagus and flanked by soldiers guarding the tomb. As was customary in this scene, the painter depicts the varied stereotyped reactions of the soldiers, who sleep unconcernedly, appear amazed, or flee. That scheme appears unaltered in the version for the main altarpiece at the monastery of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, now at the Museo del Prado, although the subject is enriched with a depiction of the resurrected Jesus´ encounter with Mary Magdalene. This other version is somewhat later and larger, and must have been made for a retable of the stations of the cross, probably set in a wall. that would explain the erosion and damage visible around the edges. Correa adapted the initial model to reinforce the subject´s classicist air, following a triangular scheme that would tie in with Raphael´s Resurrection at the Vatican museums, and even more so with the personal reading of this subject proposed by Correa´s teacher, Juan de Borgoña. Borgoña´s murals for Toledo Cathedral´s chapter hall (1509-1511) include a Resurrection that Correa must have had in mind for all his version, but especially the present one. This piece repeats Borgoña´s marked frontal presentation and placement of Christ´s figure, including the wavy drawing of his purple robes; the conception of the nearby cave at the side of the work, where it contrasts with the luminous landscape bathed in a lyrical dawn light; the inclusion of a richly nuanced and detailed plant-based frame, and the representation of the soldiers who complete the scene. All of these elements are directly drawn from Borgoña, as are the Roman soldiers´ cuirasses and pikes, and even the helmet resting on the steps near Christ´s feet. The soldier seated in profile in the middle ground with his head resting on his left hand recalls one that appears in Dürer´s engraving of the same scene, which is part of the Small Passion (1509-1511) (Text drawn from Ruiz, L.: Juan Correa de Vivar, c. 1510-1566. Maestro del Renacimiento español, 2010).