Pedro Anastasio Bocanegra

PEDRO ANASTASIO BOCANEGRA (Granada, 1638 - 1689).
"The dream of St. Joseph. Annunciation".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Signed with anagram P.A.F.
Measurements: 95 x 97 cm; 103,5 x 105,5 cm (frame).
The painting corresponds to the theme, composition and technique of Pedro Atanasio, very influenced by Alonso Cano and Van Dyck. Pedro Atanasio de Bocanegra, disciple of Alonso Cano, Pedro Moya and Juan de Sevilla, became in the 1660s the most active artist in his hometown. His first known work was the decorations for the Corpus Christi festivities in his hometown in 1661. During the following years we find commissions such as the series of canvases he executed between 1665 and 1666 for the cloister of the convent of Nuestra Señora de Gracia, now lost; or the numerous paintings, among them the "Conversion of St. Paul", which he painted between 1668 and 1672 for the altar of the college of the Society of Jesus, now the church of Saints Justo and Pastor (in situ). At the same time he was commissioned to decorate the Carthusian monastery of Granada with large scenes on the life of the Virgin, a set that includes two works currently preserved in the Prado Museum: "Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard" and "The Virgin and St. Peter giving the rule to some Carthusian friars". He was also appointed painter of the cathedral. After this period he went to Seville in 1686, and from there he left for the court of Madrid, where he was protected by Don Pedro de Toledo, Marquis of Mancera. Thanks to the influence of his protector, Bocanegra achieved the title of painter of the king "ad honorem" for his painting "Allegory of Justice", inspired by a Venetian print of the mid-sixteenth century, and currently preserved in the Royal Academy of San Fernando. Other conserved works of his are "The Adoration of the Eucharist" (convent of the Góngoras, Madrid), several portraits of members of the Trinitarian order (Palace of Charles V, Granada), as well as those conserved in the Prado: several paintings representing the Virgin and Child and different saints, and "The Triumph of David". After his stay in Madrid, Pedro Bocanegra returned to Granada, where he met the painter and architect Teodoro de Ardemans, who portrayed him in a canvas kept in the archbishop's palace of Granada. Bocanegra developed a style close to that of his master Cano, being admired for the great charm of his religious images, represented with great delicacy. His weakness in drawing was compensated with a pleasant coloring, very well worked, which shows his interest in contemporary Flemish art, especially that of Anton van Dyck. In addition to the aforementioned art galleries and religious centers, we can currently find works by this master in the Museum of Zaragoza, the Museum of Goya in Castres, the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art in Vitoria and the Museum of Fine Arts in Granada, as well as in various private collections.
The theme of the Dream of St. Joseph is taken from the Gospel of St. Matthew, in which it is narrated that an angel appears in a dream to Joseph to tell him not to hesitate to accept Mary as his wife, while she was pregnant. It was an episode especially treated from the Baroque period onwards, usually associated with related episodes such as the Annunciation, as in this oil painting. In the foreground we see an unorthodox representation of the Virgin, sensual with her silky hair falling over her shoulders and her gaze escaping towards heaven in acceptance of the good news. In the background, a sleeping Joseph is visited by an archangel. In the background, archways can be seen, architectural ruins fading into a misty background. A curtain opens behind Mary, revealing a wall with a niche. The complex spatial distribution, the contrast of light and the sensuality of the gestures place this painting within the Italian Baroque style. It also highlights the naturalism of the draping on the tunic whose silky whiteness absorbs and wisely distributes the light from its center.