Francisco Meneses Osorio (Seville, circa 1640... Lot n° 37

Francisco Meneses Osorio (Seville, circa 1640 - 1721) The liberation of Saint Peter Oil on canvas. 131 x 99 cm. In this report, Valdivieso supports the clear attribution of our canvas to Meneses by comparing, among other things, 'the face of the angel who frees Saint Peter with that of the 'Guardian Angel' from the church of the Capuchins in Cadiz, which is currently in the Museum of Fine Arts in that city. It is also useful to compare it with the face of Saint Catherine in the painting of the Betrothal of this saint with the Child Jesus, which belongs to the Museum mentioned above'. The professor goes on to note that 'also characteristic of Meneses Osorio [...] is the expression of astonishment shown by Saint Peter when he is freed by the angel, which is very similar to that of an apostle in the painting of the 'Virgin of the Pillar' in the parish church of Montijo in Badajoz. These and other comparisons can be seen in his book 'La escuela de Murillo' (2016). It is therefore a work 'whose technical characteristics clearly coincide with the creative spirit of Francisco Meneses Osorio', he concludes. The chromatic tones that are integrated into the painting, Valdivieso continues, are very well resolved, as they 'perfectly harmonise light and dark tones, such as the pinkish tones of the archangel's tunic and the brownish tones of Saint Peter's tunic'. Francisco Meseses Osorio, a disciple and the most faithful follower of Murillo, was one of the 'most interesting figures on the Sevillian pictorial scene in the last third of the 17th century and first quarter of the 18th century', according to José Roda Peña, professor of art history at the University of Seville. His proximity to the master Murillo is evidenced, as Enrique Valdivieso states in his article for the Royal Academy of History, by 'the affiliation of his artistic forms with those of this master', as well as by the commission to Meneses, after Murillo's death, to complete the main altarpiece of the former church of Santa Catalina in Cadiz, Convent of the Capuchins, as he was the artist who 'could best complete the paintings in accordance with the style of the deceased master'. The deposit of paintings and sculptures by Murillo and Meneses from the aforementioned church and its main altarpiece is kept in the Museum of Cádiz. There are also works by the Sevillian artist preserved in his native city, such as an important 'San Miguel Arcángel', in the Hospital de la Santa Caridad; a high quality 'San José con el Niño' (1684) and 'San Cirilo en el concilio de Éfeso' (1701), both in the Museo de Bellas Artes (Museum of Fine Arts); and, among others, 'La Virgen de los Desamparados de Valencia con San Vicente Ferrer y San Pascual Bailón' (1701), a work conserved in the Museum of the Hospital del Pozo Santo in Seville, unpublished until 1996 and published in 1999 by JoséRoda Peña in an article in the magazine 'Laboratorio de Arte'. Outside Seville, we would highlight 'La Virgen de los Reyes' (1696), in the Museo Nacional de Escultura de Valladolid and 'Cristo salvador del mundo', in the American Bob Jones University. Bibliographic references: - Valdivieso, Enrique (n.d.). Francisco Meneses Osorio'. Real Academia de la Historia.https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/12652/francisco-meneses-osorio - Roda Peña, José (1999). An unpublished painting by Francisco Meneses Osorio, in 'Laboratorio de Arte' (12), 191-198.http://dx.doi.org/10.12795/LA.1999.i12.19