Juan José Carpio

JUAN JOSÉ CARPIO (Antequera, Málaga, 1654-Sevilla, 1710).
"The circumcision of Jesus.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has slight restorations on the pictorial surface and damage to the frame.
It has an Andalusian frame from the XIX century.
Measurements: 62 x 83,5 cm; 70,5 x 91,5 cm (frame).
In studied symmetry the characters are distributed in this composition of biblical theme. The small body of the Infant Jesus occupies the physical and symbolic center, and in him converge all glances, or rather, the gestures and even the vanishing point through which the whole scene is structured. A priest holds the little boy on a table. Joseph and Mary observe the sacred scene, facing the priest. The Virgin with her hands joined in prayerful attitude and St. Joseph standing with his hand directed towards the Child, showing both as parents distressed by the situation their son is going through, gestures that bring humanity to the protagonists of the Holy Family. The precision of the drawing welcomes rich color ranges, to which the light gives silvery shades, bringing us closer to an image in which the author gives prominence to the spatial conception, a feature that can be seen not only in the play of different planes, but also in the way in which the table where the Child is placed, and the space that remains open in the background, flanked by two architectural elements. It is the Evangelist Luke who narrates this episode (2, 21), being a common iconographic theme throughout the Christian tradition, and precedes the Presentation of the Child in the Temple. The art uses the information provided by the Apocryphal Gospels (Pseudo-Matthew, Arabic Gospel of the infancy, mainly) to add details to the theme that, in Are, has been shown since the end of the 10th century, usually forming part of the Cycle of Mary or of Christ.
Stylistically the work is close to the painting of Juan José Carpio, specifically to the series he made for the Church of San Alberto in Seville, where architecture has a great presence. Little is known about the life of this author and his paintings reflect the influence of Flemish painting and Juan de Valdés Leal.