Subasta Especial de Arte Colonial y Alta Época
Pair of oil paintings on canvas. Measurements: 145 x 92 cm (framed) and 149 x 123 cm (canvases). Origin: important private collection, Spain. We are in front of an exceptional representation on canvas from the 17th century, representing the allegory of summer following the typical style of still lifes popularized by Blas de Ledesma. Blas de Ledesma, a Spanish painter first documented in Granada between 1602 and 1614, is considered one of the first artists to cultivate still life painting in Spain and one of its greatest exponents. With only one signed work, a halo of mystery was woven over him that places him for the first time in Granada in 1602, he is documented that together with Pedro de Raxis the possible authorship of the dome that crowns the imperial staircase of the Monastery of Santa Cruz la Real in Granada. In 1606 he is documented in Andújar (Jaén), working on the painting of one of the vaults of the church of Santa María. It is this condition of mural painter that Francisco Pacheco refers to, who praises him in the Art of Painting, dealing with the technique of gilding, together with Pedro de Raxis and Antonio Mohedano. In 1614, back in Granada, he drew a plaster vault for the Mocárabes room in the Alhambra and is quoted in the cathedral, with unspecified work, together with Miguel Cano, father of Alonso Cano. His death is documented at the end of 1615 or beginning of 1616, since the Brotherhood of Corpus Christi, to which he belonged, celebrates a mass for the responsibility of his soul soul on January 5, 1616. His only signed and documented work is Still Life at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (Georgia). In it, a wicker basket full of cherries stands centered and with some flowers symmetrically arranged on the sides. Also the cherries that have fallen on the tablecloth seem carefully arranged and everything is painted with a meticulous and precise technique. The possible knowledge of the work of Juan Sánchez Cotán, present in Granada since 1604, could serve as inspiration for Ledesma. Reference bibliography: Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E. (1983). Spanish painting of still lifes and vases from 1600 to Goya. Madrid, Ministry of Culture, exhibition catalogue. pp. 70-71. ISBN 84-500-9335-X. The possible knowledge of the work of Juan Sánchez Cotán, present in Granada since 1604, could serve as inspiration for Ledesma. Reference bibliography: Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E. (1983). Spanish painting of still lifes and vases from 1600 to Goya. Madrid, Ministry of Culture, exhibition catalogue. pp. 70-71. ISBN 84-500-9335-X. The possible knowledge of the work of Juan Sánchez Cotán, present in Granada since 1604, could serve as inspiration for Ledesma. Reference bibliography: Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso E. (1983). Spanish painting of still lifes and vases from 1600 to Goya. Madrid, Ministry of Culture, exhibition catalogue. pp. 70-71. ISBN 84-500-9335-X.
