Felipe Gil de Mena

FELIPE GIL DE MENA, (Palencia, 1603 - 1673).
"The death of St. Joseph.
Oil on panel.
Unsigned.
Measurements: 35 x 48,5 cm, 44 x 57 cm (frame).

We see in this panel a biblical theme captured as a contemporary costumbrista scene, in an interior defined by the neutral ground, plunged into darkness in the background, following the formula of the naturalistic baroque. The bed, center of the composition, is depicted with detail and realism, and on it we see a dying Saint Joseph. On both sides of the headboard Christ and Mary are seated, and on each side we see two praying angels. Christ takes the hand of the dying man, while the Virgin contemplates him, showing great pain in her face. This is an unusual formula for the representation of the Holy Family, although the leading role of St. Joseph is typical of Spanish Counter-Reformation art.

Felipe Gil de Mena began his artistic training in Valladolid with the master Diego Valentin Diaz, although he later moved to Madrid to attend the workshop of the painter Juan Van der Hamen. As the Royal Academy of History points out, Gil de Mena was linked throughout his life to his master Valentin Diaz "He trained with this painter, although it is believed that he may also have been at the Court and even met Zurbarán. He would inherit his master's workshop, and would become the most recognized painter in the city and nearby towns.

From then on he was requested by different convents to paint series of canvases, of which the one of the cloister of the convent of San Francisco de Valladolid stands out. Several canvases are preserved in the National Sculpture Museum, such as the painting of St. Francis and St. Dominic in the refectory, probably inspired by prints from the end of the 16th century. Before 1660, Gil de Mena received commissions for several convents in the province of Valladolid, such as that of San José de Medina de Rioseco, of the Discalced Carmelites, where some of his paintings of Franciscan and Carmelite themes are preserved. But it was from that date, the date of his master's death, when Gil de Mena became a much sought-after painter.

He worked for the church of Santa María and the church of San Antolín de Tordesillas, where he collaborated in the altarpiece made by José de Alejo in 1659. He also made several works for the parishes of Ítero de la Vega, Baltanás or San Miguel de Peñafiel, and worked for the Jesuits, as in the altarpiece of paintings dedicated to the Immaculate Conception (1664) for the collegiate church of Villagarcía de Campos; or in the canvas of the Apotheosis of the Eucharist, for those of Valladolid, today the church of San Miguel, in which the artistic evolution of Gil de Mena can be seen".