Ignacio de Ríes

IGNACIO DE RÍES (Seville, ca. 1616 - ?, 1670).
"Christ carrying the cross".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Preserves period frame with flaws and damage caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 210 x 163 cm; 234 x 191.5 cm (frame).
In this canvas the author captures one of the most dramatic moments of the Way of the Cross, for this the painter defines the figure of Christ in a monumental way, located in a plane very close to the spectator. In fact, this way of presenting the figure is related to the painting "King David", which is in the collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid. Although in this particular case a landscape can be seen in the background. The images of Christ carrying the cross in his ascent to Mount Calvary were relatively frequent in Christian iconography, and since early Christian art there are examples that are linked to texts where reference is made to the symbolic role of the cross as an instrument of salvation and attainment of eternal life. The theme of this one may derive from the Expolio, perhaps planned to be a series that completely addressed the passion of Christ. In this case there is no aesthetic reference to the path that Jesus walked, but the author has decided to collect a scene devoid of the anecdotal.
Ignacio de Ríes was a Spanish painter, son of the Flemish painter Mateo de Ríes, from whom he possibly received his first artistic training. Between 1635 and 1645, approximately, he is documented as an official in Zurbarán's workshop, being considered one of his most important disciples. His work is characterized by a very eclectic style strongly influenced by Zurbarán's painting, as can be seen in the use of chiaroscuro and a descriptive technique that pays great attention to the qualities of the objects, among other aspects. Likewise, to create his compositions he frequently resorted to Flemish prints by authors such as Aegidius Sadeler II or Jeronimus Wierix. Although his stylistic evolution is very limited, we can place in a first stage those works more attached to the style of his master -such as the San Miguel Arcángel (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)- and in a second stage those in which he uses a looser brushstroke and in which the influence of Murillo's painting can be appreciated, such as the Asunción de la Virgen, of 1661, for the church of San Bartolomé in Seville. Around 1653 he painted the most important work of his career: the paintings for the chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the cathedral of Segovia, commissioned by Pedro Fernández Miñano y Contreras to decorate the space that would serve as a funeral chapel for his family, which determines that the predominant message of the whole revolves around repentance and penitence. Of all of them, the most outstanding is The Tree of Life, not only for its workmanship but also for its iconography, representing Christ's warning of the imminent arrival of Death to a group of men and women who, placed at the top of the tree, appear to be committing different capital sins. The Prado Museum preserves by his hand King David, a work of great quality that, both stylistically and iconographically, can be related to Zurbarán and his series on the sons of Jacob (Auckland Castle, Durham).