Cordovan school; 17th century. "Last Supper". Oil... Lot 24

Cordovan school; 17th century. "Last Supper". Oil on pine panel. It has an Andalusian frame of the period. It presents damages caused by xylophagous. Measurements: 26,5 x 41 cm; 35,5 x 50 cm (frame). The work shows a room of simple architecture illuminated only thanks to the halo of sanctity emanating from the head of Christ. In the foreground is the table, with the apostles arranged next to it, except for the central area, which is cleared to allow the figure of Jesus to be placed in the centre of the table. The work shows the moment when Jesus alludes to the bread that he will dip to identify the betrayer, which took place at the Last Supper. This is a key moment in the Gospel for Christianity. Its representation has been really frequent throughout the History of Art, the best known, perhaps, is the fresco by Leonardo da Vinci, with the larger side of the table towards the viewer, following what is surely the most normal position for the piece of furniture, as it allows an easy composition; However, there are also numerous works with another type of table, and many with an Apostle with his back to the viewer (normally one is Judas, to take advantage of the situation and place the bag of silver coins on his back, held with one hand, as Rubens and Maarten van Heemskerck do, for example, in the drawing in the Museo del Prado - which shows a very similar pose to the Judas in this work - or Flemish tables such as St Peter in Louvain by Dieric Bouts...). ). In terms of aesthetics and subject matter, the work has similarities with the painting of the artist Pablo de Céspedes (c. 1538/1548-Córdoba, 1608), of noble origin. Pablo was born and raised in the house of his father's maternal uncle, Francisco López de Aponte, a canon of Córdoba, where he received a scholarly education. At the age of eighteen, in 1556, he was sent to the Complutense University of Alcalá de Henares, where he devoted himself to the acquisition of oriental languages and theology. He later moved to Rome where he studied painting with Federico Zuccari. He was in Rome in 1559, engaged in conducting certain negotiations for Archbishop Carranza de Miranda of Toledo, who was later accused of heresy before the Valladolid Inquisition. He remained in Italy for more than 20 years and gained a great reputation as an artist. He returned to Spain in 1577 and was appointed canon of Cordoba cathedral. He continued to write books on antique subjects, such as the architecture of Solomon's temple.