Circle of BLAS DE LEDESMA (Documented in Granada between 1602 and 1614) "Still life of cherries". Oil on canvas. Relined.

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Old Masters, Day 2

By Setdart Auction House

Nov 25, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-25 08:30:00 2021-11-25 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Old Masters, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-day-2-7886
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• Lot Description

  Circle of BLAS DE LEDESMA (Documented in Granada between 1602 and 1614) "Still life of cherries". Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents repainting. Measurements: 36 x 48,5 cm; 50,5 x 63 cm (frame). In this composition, exuberant and nevertheless balanced, there are two protagonists, which are the cherries and the different recipients that appear in the scene. All of them are placed in the foreground competing for prominence, and demonstrating the artist's interest in capturing the different qualities of the materials that make up these containers. Blas de Ledesma was one of the first Spanish artists to cultivate the still life. Although he is a very poorly documented artist, of whom only one signed work is preserved, we do know that in 1602 he was in Granada, working with Pedro de Raxis on the paintings of the dome that crowns the imperial staircase of the Monastery of Santa Cruz la Real. In fact, Pacheco praises him as a mural painter in his "Arte de la Pintura", and mentions him together with Pedro de Raxis and Antonio Mohedano as a follower of Giulio Aquili and Alejandro Mayner, who introduced the grotesques in the Alhambra Palace. In 1614 we find him documented again in Granada, drawing a plaster vault for the Mocárabes room of the Alhambra. He is also quoted as working in the cathedral with Miguel Cano. We know nothing more about his life until January 1616, when the Corpus Christi Brotherhood, to which he belonged, celebrated a mass for his soul, from which we deduce that he must have died at the end of 1615 or the beginning of the following year. We also know, however, that he was recognized as a painter of fruit bowls, as attested by Pedro Soto de Rojas, who dedicated some verses to him, comparing him to Zeuxis in his "Paraíso cerrado para muchos, jardines abiertos para pocos" (Paradise closed to many, gardens open to few) of 1652. To date we only know of one work signed by him that can be safely attributed to him, the "Still Life of Cherries" from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (USA). It is a still life that evidences the knowledge of Juan Sánchez Cotán (present in Granada since 1604), characterized by a rigorously geometric composition, with the objects on a table in front of a black background, meticulously worked with great detail.

  Dimensions:
  36 x 48,5 cm; 50,5 x 63 cm (frame).

  INV Number:
  35256455
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