VICENTE CARDUCHO (1576 / 1638) "Holy family",... Lot n° 543

Signed on the lower part. It is an interesting canvas with a curious iconography by Vicente Carducho, and very representative of the artist's creative and working processes. In fact, it is closely related to other works of similar subject matter by the painter, as well as to some of his drawings. The work shows a beautiful representation of the Virgin and Child accompanied by a kneeling Saint Catherine, towards whom Jesus extends his arm, in a very similar manner, even with the same features, as in the Holy Family in the Museo del Prado. On the other side is Saint John the Evangelist seated, in the attitude of writing his Gospel and accompanied by the eagle, his principal attribute. The Virgin establishes a kind of dialogue with Saint John, as a compositional counterpoint to that of the Child with Saint Catherine. In the background, standing on the left is Saint Mary Magdalene and on the right the figure of Saint John, unfortunately very much lost. Thus, the painting is a careful composition in which the serenity and monumentality characteristic of Carducho are combined with a certain movement marked above all by the foreshortening and the marked diagonals that the child generates with his posture and attitude. . Oil on canvas.168 x 146 cm