Francisco Varela

FRANCISCO VARELA (Seville?, ca. 1580/1592- 1645).
"St. John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos".
Oil on panel. Cradled.
Work painted on the back.
Presents label of the Board of Seizure and protection of artistic heritage partially damaged.
It has restorations and damages caused by non-active xylophages.
Measurements: 82,5 x 58 cm.
This work follows the compositional models of an engraving made by Jan Sadeler, based on a work by the painter Martin de Vos, being this engraving very popular among the baroque painters of Seville. The scene has an idealized landscape in which, in the foreground, leaning his back against a tree, appears St. John, dressed in pink tunic and red cloak and writing in an open book, while raising his head. Next to him appears the eagle, his emblem of the Tetramorphos. In the right corner of the composition appears the vision that the saint is collecting in his writing: a winged Woman dressed in light, on the lunar crescent, although in this case it is an orb, overcoming the multi-headed serpent. This theme was frequent in the imagery of the time: masters such as Alonso Cano (Altarpiece of Santa Paula in Seville), Pedro de Orrente (Museo del Prado in Madrid), Luca Giordano, Diego Velázquez, etc. treated it. The artist collects a religious story, in which one of the main parts of the Apocalypse of St. John is narrated, which collects the revelations that the Evangelist had in Patmos. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, according to most biblical historians, he is considered to have been exiled as a result of anti-Christian persecution under the Roman Emperor Domitian. It was in a cave where he heard a voice "as of a trumpet" (Book of Revelation:10). When he turned around, he saw the figure of the Son of Man. However, in this image, the presence of the multi-headed monster indicates that the author has referred to chapter XVIII of the book of Revelation, also known as the book of revelations.
Aesthetically the work is reminiscent of the painting of Francisco Varela, an artist active in Seville since 1606. It is known that in 1625 a master was in charge of checking the aptitudes of the aspiring artist to enter the painters' guild of the city. Like most of the painters of his generation, his was originally a mannerist style that evolved towards naturalism, anticipating in some aspects the model later developed by Francisco de Zurbarán. The work that has come down to us from Varela is scarce. There are two representations of the Last Supper, one of them made in 1622, probably inspired by a mannerist engraving, is in the Church of San Bernardo in Seville, the other with a very similar iconography, was acquired in 2004 by the Junta de Andalucía, is exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville. Also noteworthy are the Portrait of Martínez Montañés (1616) belonging to the city of Seville and San Miguel Arcángel (1629). One of his last known works, executed in 1640, is the set of paintings made for the Convent of the Passion of Seville, which are also exhibited in the Museum of Fine Arts. The series consists of St. Christopher and St. Augustine, St. Catherine of Siena with St. Lucy and St. Catherine of Alexandria with St. Teresa of Jesus.