Spanish school; 18th century. "Still life". Oil... Lot 13

Spanish school; 18th century. "Still life". Oil on canvas. Re-drawn. It presents faults and perforations. Measurements: 47,5 x 37,5 cm. In the Spanish painting of still lifes and vases there would take place in the 18th century an uneven development: the first half would be marked by a marked artistic crisis, while the second half would be the one of the recovery of the genre. The starting point for this century was the presence of Neapolitan artists during the end of the reign of Charles II, who were joined by Spanish specialists, heirs to the previous tradition (who were also exposed to European influences such as those of the French and, above all, Italian schools). The still life in Spain was one of the most characteristic genres and, owing to its special characteristics, is clearly different from the same subject in workshops in the rest of Europe. The term appeared at the end of the 16th century, and is notable in this school for its austerity, in clear contrast to Flemish sumptuousness, although with a number of influences from the latter and the Italian school. Sánchez Cotán's works were so successful that his style had numerous followers (Juan de Espinosa, Antonio Ponce, Juan van der Hamen y León, etc.). In this context, the Sevillian school contributed its own particularities, thanks above all to Velázquez and Zurbarán. While during the first half of the 17th century the still life was ordered and clear, with a classicist aesthetic, the works of the second half of the century have very different characteristics, the result of the stylistic evolution towards the full Baroque, leaving behind the dominant classicism of the beginning of the century. As is usual in Spanish Baroque still life painting, even in the second half of the 17th century, the composition is classical and balanced. However, in the second half of the century many painters, reflecting the advance of the language in an increasingly scenographic and dynamic sense, began to introduce slightly asymmetrical compositions, diagonal lines and still lifes organised in various planes of depth, even opening onto landscape.