A Saint Bartholomew for Velazquez’s Apostolado

Published on 05 January 2023, by Philippe Dufour

Auction on 20 February 2023 - 14:30 (CET) - 3, rue Mangin - 57000 Metz

This work by the Spanish master's followers belongs to a religious cycle that he conceived. Its reappearance on the market is an event in the history of 17th-century painting from Seville.

Spanish school, 17th century, followers of Velazquez, Saint Bartholomew, oil on canvas,... A Saint Bartholomew for Velazquez’s Apostolado

Spanish school, 17^th century, followers of Velazquez, Saint Bartholomew, oil on canvas, 92 x 70 cm/36.22 x 27.56 in.

Estimate: €60,000/80,000

The portrait with Caravaggesque lighting, which lay dormant in a collection in Eastern France, long raised many questions that have now been partly answered. The subject, an old bearded man draped in an austere cloak, was easy to identify. An abbreviated inscription in the upper right-hand corner, "Bartol", indicates that he is Saint Bartholomew. His large sword confirms the hypothesis: it was common practice to depict martyrs with the instrument of their torture. Bartholomew evangelized the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire around the year 50 until his martyrdom in Armenia: according to The Golden Legend , he was flayed alive, crucified and beheaded in the capital,…

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