Attributed to JUAN DE SEVILLA ROMERO (Granada, 1643-1695).

Attributed to JUAN DE SEVILLA ROMERO (Granada, 1643-1695).
‘Virgin and Child with Saint John.
Oil on canvas. Relined
It has restorations.
Measurements: 68,5 x 49 cm.

The tender religious scene formed by the Virgin, the Child and Saint John the Baptist is enveloped in sepulchral black. An inner light seems to emerge from Jesus' naked body, reflected in his whitish flesh tones that reinforce the purity of his being. The Virgin's skin also shares this porcelain whiteness, except for the faint glow of her cheeks. She is about to cover the little boy with a soft gauze, to wrap him in her dreams. The studied chromatic contrast that models figures and atmosphere, as well as the absence of any superfluous element and the excellence of the qualities place us in the Florentine tradition of the Baroque period. The tenderness of the gesture between the Virgin and Child, the delicate features of the Young Mary's face and the roundness of the Child's infantile forms are very much reminiscent of the work of Juan de Sevilla. In particular, the Virgin and Child depicted in Rest at the Flight into Egypt, which is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest.

Juan de Sevilla Romero trained first with Francisco Alonso Argüello, then with Pedro de Moya, and went on to work with Alonso Cano from 1660. The influence of his master and of Flemish engravings, especially Rubens, are the fundamental characteristics of his painting. From 1674 onwards he received numerous commissions for different churches and convents in his city, such as the two canvases in the sacristy of the convent of San Jerónimo (in situ), San Pantaleón for San Felipe Neri (Granada Museum of Fine Arts), Triumph of the Eucharist for the Augustinian nuns (in situ) and The Disciples of Emmaus in the Hospital del Refugio and convent of San Antón in Granada, among others. He also worked in Cordoba and Seville, where he collaborated on the tempera decorations for the Corpus Christi celebrations. Other works by the artist include The Holy Family (Museo de la Pasión, Valladolid), the Pietà (Seville cathedral), the Santas (National Museum of Poznan, Poland) and Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple and The Rich Epulon and the Poor Lazarus (Prado, the former from the royal collections and the latter acquired in 1928).