Francisco Bayeu's workshop

Workshop of FRANCISCO BAYEU (Zaragoza, 1734 - Madrid, 1795).
"St. Peter the Baptist.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has a frame of the century c. 1800.
Measurements: 83 x 51 cm; 92 x 60 cm (frame).

The work presents a male figure dressed in habit, kneeling on clouds, surrounded by a golden celestial light in a space in which several angels appear. One, in front, holds a wooden cross assisted by another, and, to the left, there is one with a crown of laurels and another with two spears.

The saint's brown habit, together with the cord and the three knots, alluding to the three promises or vows of poverty, obedience and chastity, identify him as a member of the Order of Saint Francis, founded in 1209 by Saint Francis of Assisi (1181/1182 - 1226). The work shows St. Peter Baptist (1542-1597), an outstanding Franciscan saint chosen by Father Juan Cobo to appease the Japanese who were hindering evangelization in the area of Manila. Together with Fray Bartolomé Tuis and Francisco de La Parrilla, he arrived in Hirado, presenting himself to the shogun Hideyoshi Toyotomi. They succeeded in founding the first Franciscan church in Japan, Our Lady of the Angels, as well as convents in Nagasaki and Osaka. However, they were imprisoned together with St. Peter Miki, underwent a Way of the Cross after being imprisoned, and finally died on the cross on Nishizaka Hill in 1597.

Because of its formal and technical characteristics, we can relate this work to the circle of Francisco Bayeu. A member of a notable family of artists, brother of the painters Ramón and Manuel, Francisco Bayeu was also Francisco de Goya's brother-in-law. He began his training in his native Zaragoza, attending the workshop of Juan Andrés Merklein, a painter of Bohemian origin, and the drawing classes of José Luzán Martínez. In 1756, he achieved the Extraordinary Prize of the Academy of San Fernando, which earned him a scholarship in 1758 to study for two years at the academy in Madrid. However, Bayeu left the academy only two months later due to disagreements with one of the professors, Antonio González Velázquez. He then returned to Zaragoza, where his economic situation became complicated after the death of his parents, which forced him to take care of his family. He began his pictorial career by carrying out commissions for churches and convents in the city. In 1759, he married Sebastiana Merklein, the daughter of his master. During those years, he developed a still youthful language, marked by the influence of Lucas Jordán and Corrado Giaquinto.

In 1762, Anton Raphael Mengs, the leading court painter, visited Saragossa and proposed that he work with him on the decoration of the new Royal Palace. Thanks to the protection of Mengs, Bayeu carried out several decorative commissions for the Royal Sites, establishing himself as one of the most outstanding painters of the time. Among these first works for the court, the fresco decoration of the vaults of the dining room of the queen's room ("The Surrender of Granada") and of the antechamber of the princes of Asturias ("The Fall of the Giants") stand out. In these works, his baroque training is still evident, but elements of his mature language can already be glimpsed, such as the elegance in the positions, the meticulousness, the neoclassical lighting effects and the perfect anatomical study. In the 1760s, his neoclassical aesthetic appears fully formed, marked by a clean and precise drawing and by a palette that plays with the contrast of reds and yellows over an intonation based on blues and grays.