Alonso del Arco

ALONSO DEL ARCO (Madrid, ca. 1635-1704).
"Saint Bartholomew the Apostle.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents restorations on the pictorial surface.
It has an important frame with slight damage.
Measurements: 83,5 x 62 cm; 108 x 87, 5 cm (frame).
The presence of the knife on the table reveals that it is a representation of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle. It is likely that this work was originally conceived as part of a larger cycle formed by the twelve apostles, something that was very common in the decoration of religious spaces. In this canvas St. Bartholomew is represented half-length and in the foreground, on a dark and neutral background that enhances his corporeality while helping to focus attention on the figure. Saint Bartholomew is shown in a pious attitude, directing his gaze towards the sky, showing the faithful the rotundity of the form and the devotional expressiveness. The image of Saint Bartholomew has undergone few modifications throughout the history of art, being common the representation of the saint at the moment of martyrdom. Thus, he is usually represented being flayed, either on a colt or tied to a tree. He has also been depicted working miracles: resurrecting the children of King Polymius and freeing his daughter possessed by the devil. On rare occasions he appears being scourged. Sometimes he is represented with a large knife alluding to his martyrdom, according to which he was flayed alive, which is why he is the patron saint of tanners. Also in relation to his martyrdom he is sometimes depicted skinned, showing his skin held in his arm as if it were a piece of clothing.
Alonso del Arco was a Spanish Baroque painter, deaf and dumb from birth. There is little biographical information about him, although it is known that he was a disciple of Antonio de Pereda. Of his work we know the altarpieces made between 1675 and 1685, that of San Juan Bautista in the church of San Juan del Mercado (Guadalajara) and that of San Felipe Neri in the church of the Trinitarians in Madrid; The Infant Jesus Sleeping on the Cross (1681) preserved in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, the Apparition of the Virgin of La Merced to St. Peter Nolasco (1682) preserved in the Prado Museum, as well as numerous versions of the Immaculate Conception, distributed between the Prado and some churches of Valladolid; The Magdalene stripping off her jewels in the Museum of Fine Arts of Asturias and the Annunciation, preserved in the Lazaro Galdiano Museum, among others. In addition, he also painted landscape scenes and portraits, such as Marianna of Austria (1696) preserved in the Museum of Santa Cruz in Toledo, Cardinal Juan Everardo Nithard (1674) and the portraits of the Generals of the Order of St. John of God. He also worked on the fresco technique for the decoration of the dressing room of the chapel of the Virgen de la Oliva de Almonacid, with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary in 1689.