Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba,... Lot 26

Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "The Elevation of the Cross". Oil on canvas. Relined. Size: 60,5 x 60,5 cm. In this work that would be part of a representative group of the Way of the Cross, the elevation of the cross is represented in complete darkness, only torn by the banners that are part of the image, in which a scene of great dramatism is developed. Christ, already nailed to the cross, is lifted up by several men who try to hoist the structure. Darkness hovers over Christ's body, which is notable for the elongation of his anatomy and the languor of his body, with his face fallen, leaning on the wood of the cross, dejected and surviving the last breath of his mortal life. The scene is completed by a group of figures in the lower part, who form part of the Roman SPQR (The Senate and the Roman People), headed by a laureate equestrian figure carrying a large standard, who seems to be leading Christ's condemnation. All these figures are arranged in a concave, elliptical composition, inviting the viewer to become part of the scene. In addition, the figure of Christ is displaced from the centre, thus attracting the observer to the centre, which is illuminated by a warm light of Tenebrist heritage. This void allows the scene to be rationalised and ordered, with the figures standing out for their movement, foreshortening and the diagonal lines that follow the position of their bodies. Because of these characteristics, added to the drama of the pictorial palette, the piece is reminiscent of the aesthetic precepts of Antonio del Castillo. Antonio Castillo is considered to be the father of the Cordovan school of painting, and was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmithing projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work and in his last years introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in his religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism,