Visit of Cardinal Tavera to the famous Alonso Berruguete
Ca. 1884. Oil on canvas.On display elsewhere
This work was submitted to the 1884 National Exhibition of Fine Arts. It depicts an alleged meeting between Juan Pardo de Tavera (Toro, Zamora, 1472–Toledo, 1545), Cardinal, Archbishop and Inquisitor General of Spain, and the sculptor Alonso Berruguete (Paredes de Nava, Palencia, around 1490–Toledo, 1561). The scene presumably takes place in the sculptor´s house or workshop, judging by the plaster sculptural fragments hanging on the back wall. In the centre of the room, the sculptor shows the audience the carving of Saint Sebastian, made in 1527 for the altarpiece of San Benito in Valladolid and currently located in Museo Nacional de Escultura.
In order to demonstrate his expert knowledge, the painter placed on the table a drawing containing the outlines for an altarpiece, which is contemplated with great attention by a boy, who closes the composition on the right. With like intent, the artist painted a fragment of the choir stalls in the background on the left, which probably belonged to the one made by the sculptor in 1539 for the Reyes Nuevos chapel in the Cathedral of Toledo. Alonso Berruguete worked on this painting in Valladolid during the years when Cardinal Tavera, his patron, held the archbishopric of Toledo and commissioned several works for the cathedral. The sculptor´s last major work was the Sepulchre of Cardinal Tavera for the church of the hospital of the same name in Toledo.
The painting is in Jadraque´s characteristic style, which combines expert knowledge in history, descriptive detail, vivid colours and a certain realism in the compositional elements. This painting is represented in the background of the canvas entitled Pensando asunto [Thinking about the Matter], also by Miguel Jadraque y Sánchez Ocaña (Text taken from: La época de Carlos V y Felipe II en la pintura de historia del siglo XIX [The Age of Charles V and Philip II in 19th century history painting], Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 1999, pp. 244–247 and Pintura del Siglo XIX en el Museo del Prado: Catálogo General [19th Century Painting in Museo del Prado: General Catalogue], Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado, 2015, p. 301).
