Mallorcan school; 17th Century.

Majorcan school, circle of MIQUEL BESTARD (Palma de Mallorca, 1592 - 1633); second half of the 17th century.
"The Martyrdom of Blessed Ramon Llull".
Oil on canvas.
It conserves its period frame.
Measurements: 85 x 210 cm.
In this landscape scene the author presents us with a numerous group of characters who are arranged to the sides of a saint situated in the centre of the scene, whose black clothes on the lighter tones used by the painter, show the preponderance of this figure. The artist accentuates the drama and commotion of the scene, which is clearly Flemish in origin, with a large number of figures, each captured individually, some of them showing forced foreshortening and exaggerated counterposts. Furthermore, the construction of the space in depth helps to enhance the dynamism that the author achieves in the foregrounds. The scene in general is treated with a descriptive and highly narrative language, typical of Bestard. Iconographically, the work depicts the martyrdom of Ramon Llull (c. 1232 - 1315/1316), who was a philosopher, theologian, poet, missionary and Christian apologist from the Kingdom of Mallorca. He invented a philosophical system known as the Art, conceived as a kind of universal logic to demonstrate the truth of Christian doctrine to interlocutors of all religions and nationalities. The Art consists of a set of general principles and combinatorial operations. In 1314, at the age of 82, Llull travelled again to Tunis, possibly motivated by correspondence between King James II of Aragon and al-Lihyani, the Hafsid caliph, indicating that the caliph wished to convert to Christianity. Although Llull had encountered difficulties during his previous visits to North Africa, this time he was allowed to operate without interference from the authorities due to improved relations between Tunisia and Aragon. The circumstances of his death remain unknown. He probably died sometime between then and March 1316, either in Tunis, on the ship on the return voyage, or in Mallorca on his return.
From its formal characteristics we can attribute this work to Miquel Bestard, a Mallorcan painter trained in the Mannerist tradition and active in the early Baroque. His production can be grouped into two distinct blocks: religious painting on the one hand, executed for different Mallorcan churches and convents, and profane motifs on the other, which include views of Mallorca from the port, the fires of Troy and naval battles. The latter are large works, and earned the artist the nickname of "the mad painter" due to the fantasy and extravagance of his landscapes. He also produced works related to the figure of Ramon Llull, such as "Scenes from the life of Ramon Llull" (private collection), "Stoning of Ramon Llull" (Sant Francesc church, Palma), "Ramon Llull at the Council of Vienne" (idem) and "Ramon Llull" (Col-legi de la Sapiència, Palma). Within his religious production, his canvases dedicated to the Inmaculada de Can Vivot and the churches of Monti-Sion, Sant Francesc and San Alonso Rodríguez (Palma) are particularly noteworthy. On occasions, Bestard combined religious themes with landscape painting, generally in works of considerable size, including paintings such as "Martyrdom of Saints" (private collection, Palma) and "Mythological Fable" (idem). Bestard was, despite his early death, a successful painter, with abundant and ambitious commissions, as can be deduced from his use of monumental formats, and hence he was able to devote himself freely to such a varied subject matter, which included landscape and mythology as well as the religious themes typical of the period. He was even known outside Mallorca, as evidenced by several commissions from Catalonia. Property inventories of the period confirm that there were many works by his hand in Mallorca, probably part of a serial production that the painter easily sold.