Attributed to José de Arellano

Attributed to JOSE DE ARELLANO (Madrid, doc. 1665 - 1710).
"Floreros".
Oil on canvas. Relined in the 19th century.
They present restorations in the pictorial surface and damages in the frame caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 53 x 96 cm (x2); 71 x 87 cm (frames, x2).
Pair of still lifes of flowers perfectly framed within the full Spanish baroque, with a magnificent treatment of the qualities, the colors and, especially, the effective tenebrist illumination, which endows the flowers with a presence and a three-dimensional aspect that reaches an illusionist level, almost trompe l'oeil. The flowers, worked in both paintings in shades of red, ochre and white, emerge from the shadows of the surroundings. In both cases the vase is placed on a pedestal of irregular profiles, with a stony appearance, worked in the same neutral tones as the background, indeterminate, we do not know if it is interior or exterior. The parapet stands out against the background as it is somewhat more illuminated, reinforcing the spatial construction in a naturalistic way.
Aesthetically the work is close to the precepts of José de Arellano, a painter specialized in the subject of the still life of flowers, José de Arellano was a disciple of his father, Juan de Arellano, one of the most outstanding specialists in flower painting of the Spanish Baroque. He was also the brother of the painters Manuel and Julián de Arellano. He faithfully followed his father's style, to the point that several of his works have been attributed to him. However, his language differs from that of Juan de Arellano in his drier brushstrokes and more muted palette. We know little about his biography, although we do know the date of his baptism, which took place in the parish of San Ginés in Madrid in 1653, his godfather being the painter Juan Fernández de Laredo. He is currently represented in the Prado Museum (works on deposit at the City Hall and the Casa de Colon in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the Spanish Embassy at the UN in New York). While during the first half of the century the still life is orderly and clear, with a classicist aesthetic, the works of the second half of the century present very different characteristics, the result of the stylistic evolution towards the full baroque, leaving behind the dominant classicism of the beginning of the century. In works such as the pair of vases presented here, the taste for extreme naturalism is maintained, which leads the author to meticulously describe not only the details of the flowers and vases, but also to convey their different tactile qualities.