"EL VIGATÁ"; FRANCESC PLA I DURAN (Vic, Barcelona,... Lot 28

"EL VIGATÁ"; FRANCESC PLA I DURAN (Vic, Barcelona, 1743 - Barcelona, 1805). "The Flight into Egypt". Tempera on canvas, colours probably bound with rabbit glue. Measurements: 167,5 x 109,5 cm. Known as "El Vigatá", Francesc Plá's language starts from rococo and is preserved to a certain pre-romanticism. As on this occasion, he devoted himself above all to biblical or mythological themes. In this work he depicts a very frequent episode in Christian art, although it is only quoted in the Gospel of Matthew (2:13-15). It is a symbolic episode, constructed by the evangelist as a justification of Hosea's prophecy: "Out of Egypt I called my son". Formally, the classical models for this theme are followed, with the Holy Family and the donkey that serves as a mount for Mary, who carries the infant Jesus on her lap. The angels who guide her way are also depicted. On the other hand, the scene is presented as a family image, full of tenderness. The light treatment with which the soft flesh tones and the atmospheric perspective are worked is outstanding. Francesc Plá was a disciple of Francisco and Manuel Tramulles and enrolled at the painters' college in 1771. In 1784 he decorated the Bishop's Palace in Barcelona, and in 1791 the Moja Palace - considered one of his finest works. The decorations of the Clarós and Marquis of Monistrol houses, now disappeared, can be found in the Royal Palace of Pedralbes. His work is currently housed in the National Art Museum of Catalonia and the Pablo Casals Museum, among other important institutions.