Andalusian school; late seventeenth century.

Andalusian School; late seventeenth century.
"St. Joseph with Child.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents restorations in the pictorial surface and damages in the frame.
Measurements: 207 x 140 cm; 217 x 150 cm (frame).
Saint Joseph, identified by the flowered rod that one of the angels of the procession carries, is presented with the Child in his lap, in a family scene full of tenderness. The shades, ochre and bluish, oscillate between them, blending into each other, resulting in a peaceful image, where the color is harmoniously related, without making hallmarks or demarcating elements of discordance. It is an image that was very often repeated by the master Murillo, who managed to create a personal aesthetic pattern, of great influence and iconographic relevance. These characteristics led to the assimilation by other painters of this Murillo aesthetic. Which is seen in most of the disciples of the master, highlighting the work of St. Joseph and Child, Meneses Osorio (Seville, c. 1640 - 1721). Until the Counter-Reformation, it was common for the figure of St. Joseph to remain in the background, since he was not given any theological importance. However, after Trent, his leading role as Jesus' protector during his childhood, as a guide during his youth, was recovered, and as such he is represented here. In contrast to the tenderness, defenselessness and candor of the infant figure, St. Joseph is presented as a monumental character, typically baroque, an impression that is reinforced by the pyramidal composition. Through this form of representation, the author visually enhances the decisive role as protector of the putative father of Jesus.
The 17th century marked the arrival of the Baroque in the Andalusian school, with the triumph of naturalism over Mannerist idealism, loose workmanship and many other aesthetic liberties. At this time the school reached its greatest splendor, both for the quality of the works and for the primordial rank of Sevillian Baroque painting. Thus, during the transition to Baroque we find Juan del Castillo, Antonio Mohedano and Francisco Herrera el Viejo, in whose works the rapid brushstroke and the crude realism of the style is already manifested, and Juan de Roelas, introducer of Venetian colorism. In the middle of the century the period reached its peak, with figures such as Zurbarán, a young Alonso Cano and Velázquez. Finally, in the last third of the century we find Murillo and Valdés Leal, founders in 1660 of an Academy where many of the painters active during the first quarter of the 18th century were trained, such as Meneses Osorio, Sebastián Gómez, Lucas Valdés and others.