Gerard de la Vallée

GERARD DE LA VALLÉE ( Netherlands,1596/1597-after 1667)
"Saint John".
Oil on copper.
Presents faults in the frame.
Signed in the lower left area.
Measurements: 55 x 72 cm; 75 x 92 cm (frame).
This work follows a recurring iconography in European art during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, presents us with St. John the Baptist in a landscape environment, dressed in sheepskin and red cloak, carrying the cruciform reed with a phylactery, and accompanied by a lamb, direct representation of Christ. The scene is approached with a clear interest in the landscape, which opens up in clarity as the depth of the shots advances.
Gerard de la Vallée was a Flemish painter known for his landscapes and history paintings, with a style inspired by the great Flemish masters and intended primarily for export. Little is known with certainty about the life of Gerard de la Vallée. He is registered in Mechelen on July 3, 1620. He was active in Paris from 1620 to 1625. In 1625 he is again mentioned in Mechelen, where he painted a picture for the baroque church of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-over-de-Dijlekerk. In the guild year 1626-1627 he is documented in Antwerp by registering as a master in the local guild of St. Luke under the name of Geeraert de la Vallee. De la Vallee worked for the workshop of Forchondt, which was one of the most important exporters of Flemish art to all corners of Europe and South America. Many of the works produced in Forchondt's workshop, including those of Gerard de la Vallée, used copper as a support. This facilitated their export from Antwerp to Seville, where Forchondt had a trading post. From Seville, the works were shipped via Cadiz to Vera Cruz (Mexico), where they were sold to local convents.
La Vallée's landscapes show the influence of Abraham Govaerts and Jan Brueghel the Elder and are often derived or inspired by the works of the great masters of the Antwerp school. For example, in his Ecce Homo (En Jan de Maere), the figure of Christ is inspired by Anthony van Dyck's Ecce Homo at the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham, England. The mining of images from other masters to create new works intended for the export market was a hallmark of Forchondt's workshop and is also evident in de la Vallée's work.