Attributed to Mateo Cerezo

Attributed to MATEO CEREZO (Burgos, 1637-Madrid, 1666).
"Still life".
Oil on canvas.
Presents inscription with old attribution.
It has a XVII century frame with damages caused by xylophages and restorations.
Measurements: 45.5 x 61.5 cm; 64.5 x 68 cm (frame).
Both the arrangement of the elements of the work, as well as those that make it up are very reminiscent of the painting "Still life of fish" by Mateo Cerezo, which is in the National Museum of San Carlos in Mexico. In addition, the asymmetrical composition, the informal placement of the elements and the dense brushstroke show us the clear stylistic influence of the master from Burgos in the work of this painter.
Mateo Cerezo was trained in Madrid, becoming part of Carreño's workshop. He was an artist in great demand by a varied clientele, especially for his religious painting, although he also tackled other genres. In this sense, the treatise writer and biographer Palomino declared the excellence with which he painted "bodegoncillos, with such superior excellence, that no one surpassed him", a judgment fully corroborated when contemplating the works in the National Museum of San Carlos in Mexico, which are signed and dated. Based on them, Perez Sanchez attributed to him the still life of kitchen bought by the Prado Museum in 1970, a work of obvious Flemish influence that, at times, has led to think of Pereda. The works of this artist from Valladolid have also been pointed out as Cerezo's ancestors, especially in his early creations. We know that in 1659 Cerezo was working in Valladolid, where he left works that were somewhat rougher than those he produced in the following decade. In his works he affirms himself as a faithful follower of Carreño, of whom he became one of his best collaborators. The master showed him the path he himself later followed, following the path of Van Dyck and Titian. Thus, Cerezo develops compositions that open up in wide and complex scenographies, conceived with a distinguished refinement, which is manifested both in the work as a whole and in the smallest details. Like the master of Antwerp, he endows his characters with a rich magnificence in their clothing, applying a fluid and light brushstroke, contrasted by a rich play of light. A superb example of all this is the canvas The Mystical Betrothal of St. Catherine in the Prado, signed and dated 1660.