Spanish school; second half of the seventeenth century. "Christ tied to the column". Oil on canvas.

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OLD MASTERS

By Setdart Auction House

Nov 3, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-03 08:00:00 2021-11-03 08:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7786
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• Lot Description
  Spanish school; second half of the seventeenth century. "Christ tied to the column". Oil on canvas. Presents restorations and repainting. Measurements: 104 x 76 cm; 121 x 94 cm (frame). Devotional painting in which the figure of Christ is appreciated in the center of the composition, tied to a low column. It is the representation of an episode belonging to the cycle of the Passion, a highly dramatic theme, but not narrative, designed to encourage the faithful to be moved by the physical suffering of Christ and to admire his acceptance of the misfortunes he must suffer to redeem humanity. The scene narrated in the Gospels takes place in the Praetorium of Jerusalem, the center of Roman power, where Christ has arrived for the second and last time, after passing through different instances. He is exhibited before the crowd ("Ecce Homo"), who preferred to free Barabbas rather than him and, either before or after this exhibition, he is stripped of his clothes and tied to a pillar, where he will be subjected to mockery regarding his alleged crime, being "king of the Jews", and tortures, including scourging and crowning with thorns. In this scene in particular, the author has tried to transmit a certain intimacy between the faithful and the representation of Jesus, for this reason he has represented him in solitude, without the company of the soldiers. In the center of the composition Jesus is presented to the spectator with the symbols of his penitence, the crown of thorns, his imprisonment in the column, where the blood can be seen, and marks of pain reflected in the wounds of the knees, in addition it is worth mentioning that the author to have a symmetrical composition has chosen to place a column in the left zone, where he places several palms tied to the perimeter of the column, with the intention of transmitting the suffering of Christ. These symbols are reinforced by the presence of a legend "See and heed my pain, and you will find that there has been no pain like the one I suffered, because I am your redeemer". This calligraphic resource alludes directly to the viewer and forces him to have an active attitude towards the image, however, despite the message of suffering, the artist places the words under an illuminated lantern, thus providing the idea of light and hope. Formally this work is related to the naturalistic current of the Baroque that dominated the Spanish school in the first half of the seventeenth century, influenced by Caravaggio and his followers. Thus, we find in the canvas all the basic characteristics of this style. First of all, the tenebrist lighting, artificial, focused and directed towards the most important areas of the composition, creating expressive chiaroscuro and leaving the rest in a nuanced penumbra that speaks of the painter's mastery. On the other hand, the composition is also typical of naturalism: simple, clear and realistic, with Christ in the foreground on a defined background but worked in neutral tones. Finally, we must also highlight the chromatism, very studied and nuanced, with a palette that revolves around ochers, carmines and earthy tones, typically Caravaggist.
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