Seville school; late 17th century

Sevillian school; late 17th century.
"Death and glorification of Saint Catherine of Siena".
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
It presents faults and restorations.
Size: 107 x 181 cm; 127 x 207 cm (frame).
Conceived in a classical and traditional way, the author of this work shows the religious procession around Saint Catherine of Siena who is on the bed with the crucifix on her chest. The multitude of figures are arranged by the artist in the form of a frieze in such a way as to make it easier to read, but in order to make the image easier to understand, the artist also makes use of the colours, combining cold colours on the left and warm colours on the right. This choice is not only technical but also symbolic, as the artist uses the range of greys and blacks to represent the religious who form part of earthly life and the bright colours for the heavenly cortege formed by the martyr saints and featuring the presence of Jesus and the Virgin, who both extend their arms to welcome the saint into eternal life. The intention of these works was to move the public, to encourage pious acts and at the same time to perpetuate the memory of a reference of holiness, thus creating a whole historical tradition. Born in Siena around 1347, she took a vow of virginity at the age of seven. As her mother wanted to marry her off, she shaved her head. Received into the Third Order of Saint Dominic at the age of sixteen, she led an ascetic life in the convent that ruined her fragile health. She had a particular devotion to St Agnes of Montepulciano. According to legend, when Catherine visited the tomb of St Agnes, and was bending over the saint's body to kiss her foot, the saint raised it to the level of her lips. She was glorified for having helped to bring Pope Gregory XI to Rome from Avignon. On the occasion of the Western Schism, she sided with Urban VI. She died in Rome in 1380 and was canonised in 1461.
The 17th century saw the arrival of the Baroque in the Sevillian school, with the triumph of naturalism over Mannerist idealism, a loose style and many other aesthetic liberties. At this time the school reached its greatest splendour, both in terms of the quality of its works and the primordial status of Sevillian Baroque painting. Thus, during the transition to the Baroque period, we find Juan del Castillo, Antonio Mohedano and Francisco Herrera el Viejo, whose works already display the rapid brushstrokes and crude realism of the style, and Juan de Roelas, who introduced Venetian colourism. The middle of the century saw the fullness of the period, with figures such as Zurbarán, a young Alonso Cano and Velázquez. Finally, in the last third of the century we find Murillo and Valdés Leal, founders in 1660 of an Academy where many of the painters active during the first quarter of the 18th century were trained, such as Meneses Osorio, Sebastián Gómez, Lucas Valdés and others.