Juan de Espinal

JUAN DE ESPINAL (Seville, 1714 - 1783).
"Scene from the Old Testament.
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 48 x 67,8 cm.
This painting, attributed to the Sevillian painter Juan del Espinal, represents a scene from the Old Testament, full of drama and symbolism. In the foreground, we see a young woman dressed in white and blue, who seems to be a central figure in the narrative. Her posture is elegant, with one arm outstretched toward a richly and colorfully dressed man, who offers her a shiny object, probably a necklace or jewel, while holding up an offering gesture. This suggests an exchange or negotiation that could have an important background within the biblical story.The background features details that add context. On the right, camels and a male figure are glimpsed carrying what appears to be a heavy object or some kind of load, which may indicate a journey or a commercial context. On the left, another woman is slightly in profile, watching the scene intently.The lighting emphasizes the main protagonists, while the dark mood and warm tones of the background evoke an air of mystery and antiquity. This type of composition and subject matter was common in Baroque art, seeking to dramatize biblical stories and attract religious devotion.

Juan de Espinal was able to overcome the then predominant Murillo spirit prevailing in local painting, opening himself to other tendencies coming from Europe, among which the Rococo style predominated. He possessed an elegant sense of chromatism, a light brushstroke and an agile and vibrant drawing, as we see in this San Miguel Arcángel. Among the attributions, we can mention the Immaculate Conception preserved in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid and the tempera decoration of the vault of the Church of San Francisco de Utrera, on the theme Apotheosis of the Jesuit Order. He has also been attributed a series of thirteen paintings of circular format, now conserved in the Santa Casa de Loyola in Guipúzcoa, possibly copies of the series of Jesuit stories that the Flemish Jesuit Ignacio Raeth painted for the Novitiate of Madrid. Son of the painter Gregorio Espinal, Juan de Espinal must have received his first artistic teachings from his father. He apprenticed in the workshop of Domingo Martínez, where he probably met his master's daughter, Juana Martínez, whom he would later marry. In 1749, after the death of his father-in-law and master, he inherited his father's workshop and presumably his clientele, enjoying a prestigious position. Proof of this are the various commissions he received, both from the city council and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Another of his facets was teaching, being one of the main promoters of the art school known as Real Escuela de las Tres Nobles Artes de Sevilla and director of the painting section of this school since 1775. His first work of which we have evidence is the tempera decoration of the vault of the Church of El Salvador (Seville). It is a representation of the heavenly Glory presided over by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. In 1759 he was commissioned by the City Council of Seville to paint a picture of Saints Justa and Rufina, a theme already treated by Murillo. The result was a splendid work in which Espinal introduced iconographic novelties in the representation of these saints. Other of his most brilliant works are the Alegoría de la pintura Sevillana, currently on display at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (Madrid), and San Carlos Borromeo dando la comunión a los apestados de Milán (Church of San Nicolás de Bari in Seville). His best set of works is undoubtedly the series of fifteen paintings on religious themes commissioned by the Archbishop of Seville Don Francisco Javier Delgado y Venegas and currently housed in the Archbishop's Palace.