Caravaggist master; 17th century. "Musician".... Lot 17

Caravaggist master; 17th century. "Musician". Oil on canvas. Re-framed. It has Spanish frame, circa 1830. Size: 78 x 65 cm; 91,5 x 78 cm (frame). Very characteristic portrait of the Baroque period, based on the expressiveness and psychological deepening. The musician protagonist, whose clothing has been described in detail, pleats, sleeve veils, feathers of the hat. Etc. He has been skillfully captured in his work. The dark background enhances the textures and lights of garments and flesh tones. The atherized face with a slight gesture of effort with a wrinkled forehead and half-open mouth, demonstrates the technical quality of the artist. The distinctive sign of the Italian school has always been its strong naturalistic character, its warm color, with reddish and brown dominants and the cultivation, together with the altar painting, of a type of realistic painting its best exponent. Stylistically, the work shows a clear influence of Caravaggio and the followers of his style: theatrical use of a powerful spotlight, combination of this strong illumination with areas in darkness, or use of models inspired by the common people. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter, active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His painting combines a realistic observation of the human figure, both physically and emotionally, with a dramatic use of light, which exerted a decisive influence on the formation of Baroque painting. Caravaggio depicted close anatomical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that would come to be known as tenebrism. This technique became a dominant stylistic element, darkening shadows and transfiguring objects into brilliant beams of light. He vividly expressed crucial moments and scenes, often involving violent struggles, torture and death. He worked quickly with models from life, dispensing with sketches to work directly on canvas. His influence was profound in the new Baroque style that emerged from Mannerism and can be traced in the works of great masters such as Pedro Pablo Rubens, José de Ribera, Rembrandt and Diego Velázquez, as well as in countless artists of the following generation, who because they manifested his profound influence were called "Caravaggists" or "Tenebrists".