Sebastián Martínez

SEBASTIÁN MARTÍNEZ DOMEDEL (Jaén, around 1615 - Madrid, 1667).
"Saint Peter Penitent".
Oil on canvas. Re-tinted.
There are flaws in the pictorial surface.
Measures: 43 x 34 cm.
In this devotional painting, the face of the apostle Peter is turned towards heaven, appealing for divine intervention. His features reveal the characteristic workmanship of the Baroque painter Martínez Domedel, whose aged male models, rendered in a naturalistic style and whose faces are illuminated by bright watery eyes, are repeated in various compositions. The overhead light skilfully models the features with protruding cheekbones and frizzy beard. The intense expressiveness of this model can be compared with those that the painter used in the Evangelists in Jaén Cathedral. In particular, the definition of the face and expressiveness are very reminiscent of Saint Luke. The wrinkles that furrow the forehead have been resolved in a style that identifies Martínez Domedel. The specialist Rafael Mantas Fernández (Instituto de Estudios Jienenses. Jaén, 2019) defines his work as follows: "he wastes great pictorial qualities in the definition of the anatomies of his sacred images, which embody real characters taken from the street... with a psychological tension, which incited the faithful of the 17th century to prayer, perfectly fulfilling the Tridentine postulates of the time".
Sebastián Martínez Domedel was located by Palomino in Jaén, training with Antonio García Reinoso. His style is eclectic and marked by a strong influence of naturalist painting and by the concomitances of other contemporary artists such as Antonio del Castillo, Alonso Cano and José de Ribera. He began his training in Jaén in his father's studio, where he acquired the basic knowledge of the art of painting. He was able to complete his studies with the local painter Cristóbal Vela Cobo. Later he moved to Cordoba, a stay which enriched his style and brought him into contact with artists of the time. After his years of apprenticeship he soon became the most famous painter in the city of Jaén. Around the 1650s and 1660s he reached the maturity of his style and was in demand by important religious institutions and prominent civil figures in 17th-century society. The last years of his life were spent in Madrid, where he was appointed court painter to Philip IV, enriching his repertoire of images and compositional solutions after contemplating the works of important artists at the Royal Sites and above all at the Royal Monastery of El Escorial.