On 14 February 1612 Juan Bautista Maíno signed the contract to execute the paintings for the monastery church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo. Maíno agreed to a period of eight months to make the paintings, which had to portray the scenes and episodes specified by the prior of the monastery. Despite the agreement reached in the contract, the paintings were not completed until De
The pose of the Evangelist, seated on a mound in a landscape, with one leg astride the back of the ox, his attribute, recalls the painted figure of St. Luke in one of four irregularly shaped compartments of Evangelists at the corners of the ceiling of the destroyed church of S. Nicolo della Lattuga ai Frari, decorated by Paolo Veronese and his school in 1580-1581, and now in the Basilica of SS. Gi
Neoclassical painter Anton Raphael Mengs spent some eleven years in Spain -from 1761 to 1769, and again from 1774 to 1777- working primarily on the decoration of Madrid’s Royal Palace for King Charles III. For the king’s bedroom, Mengs made a series of easel paintings on the Passion of Christ -most importantly, Descent from the Cross, Patrimonio Nacional, on permanent loan to the Museu Nacional d’
This preparatory drawing for number 69 of the Disasters of War, Nothing. The Event will tell, very freely presents the original idea, and does not belong to the group of red-chalk drawings for that final work, which it only distantly resembles. More has been written about Nothing. The Event will tell, than about any other preparatory drawing for the Disasters. Its cryptic character has sparked a v
In Greek mythology, the chimera was a fire-breathing female monster resembling a lion in the forepart, a goat in the middle and a dragon in the hind. According to legend, she was a daughter of Typhaon and Echidna, and had three heads, one for each of the three animals of which she was composed. In this drawing, the dragon at the rear emits what appear to be tongues of flame. The chimera caused hav
Con vestido y peinado del siglo XVIII. Atribuido de antiguo a Barocci, es dibujo de gran calidad que enlaza con la escuela veneciana de la primera mitad del siglo XVIII y debe ser de un artista del círculo de Tiepolo (Texto extractado de Mena Marqués, M.: Catálogo de dibujos. VII. Dibujos italianos del siglo XVIII y del siglo XIX, Museo del Prado, 1990, p. 191).
In Bruns´s (?) collection as by the Venetian Jacopo Bassano (c. 1510-1592). P. Pouncey´s seems to be the recent anonymous hand that has noted on the modern museum mount: Cavedone? While the figures recall those found in many of Bassano´s paintings, the robust handling of the media is unmistakably that of the Bolognese painter Giacomo Cavedone, who must have copied them from a composition of Bassan
Four studies of a child’s head is made up of three different drawings attached to a single sheet. One drawing depicts two heads in the upper part, while the two others underneath have been executed on different coloured papers. The model, technique and type of paper of the drawing in the lower right corner are related to another drawing held in the Museo del Prado, Head of a Child (D000190). Howev
Desnudo varonil sentado en una grada, casi de perfil hacia la izquierda, con el torso casi de frente y el brazo izquierdo alzado tras la cabeza (Texto extractado de Arnáez, R.: Catálogo de Dibujos. II. Dibujos Españoles. Siglo XVIII (A-B), Museo del Prado, Madrid 1975, p. 15).
A la derecha, Cristo, semidesnudo, muestra la herida del pecho; a su izquierda, inclinado, Santo Tomás introduce en ella su mano; los apóstoles aparecen al fondo en semicírculo. Presenta el estilo característico de Bigari y es copia de una composición de Simone Cantarini conocida por un dibujo conservado en la Biblioteca del Palacio de Windsor. Sin embargo, el apunte de Bigari difiere ligeramente
The two Barbarian prisoners appear over the main door-way, to the left of a military trophy, in Polidoro´s facade decoration of the Palazzo Ricci, Rome (Ravelli, 1978, pp. 311-27; Leone de Castris, 2001, pp. 136 and 138, fig. 148). The frescoes, in chiaroscuro, are divided into scenes on different levels, the main cycle depicting episodes from the life of Mucius Scaevola. The decoration was probab
As regards modelling, technique and even the type of paper, this drawing is closely related to the head found in the lower right corner of another work preserved in the Museo del Prado, Four studies of a child’s head (D000189).
To the right, the fallen Saint Paul lifts his gaze and his right arm towards Christ, who appears in Glory. The entire left side of the composition is filled by two horses which have fallen in violent postures. The postures are inspired by Flemish Rubenesque engravings, which were known to all Spanish artists who painted this episode. The technique and the graphic design are characteristic of the c
A preparatory drawing for the print Disasters of War, 55, The Worst is to beg. One of Goya’s most singular conceptual contributions in his series of prints, Disasters of War, is his manner of representing the role of women in the conflict. They sometimes appear as heroines, but are more often depicted as victims of abuse and violence. In his desire to convey the war’s dire consequences for all lev
This drawing depicts a female figure in profile, kneeling on a cloud with both arms extended at shoulder height and with her head raised. Details including the dress typical of the period, which leaves the right shoulder uncovered, the type of hairstyle (gathered at the nape of the neck), and the clearly visible earring, leave no doubt that this work was drawn from life. The subject was probably t
It is possible that the drawing could be Florentine, since the child´s head shows some influence of Jacopo Pontormo (1494-1556).
The Infant Christ appears seated, undoubtedly on his mother’s lap. He extends his right arm and raises his head in the same direction. It is a drawing produced at the end of the 17th century by an artist in Madrid who was related to Carreño’s circle. The work is mounted on a cardboard frame and has been attributed to Murillo, an unfounded claim.
This fast and loose sketch, made in black chalk with very few lines and surely drawn from life, is a preparatory work for a figure in the tapestry cartoon Dance on the banks of the Manzanares (1777). The individuality of the face is achieved with a single line; a few short lines mark the sideburn, and vigorous, confident strokes depict the hat. The scarce clarity highlights the contours, and defin