Italian School. Paolo Veronese Circle (Verona,... Lot n° 50

Italian School. Paolo Veronese Circle (Verona, 1528 - Venice, 1588) Oil painting on three canvases. They are all from the same composition, depicting the baptism of Christ. Linde. Measurements: 127 x 70 cm., 128 x 60 cm. and 117 x 60 cm. The composition is very similar to the "Baptism of Christ" which is kept at the Courtauld Institute in London. Here we also see the figure of Jesus in the foreground, standing in the river, gathering up the cloak which covers his body between his arms, while he bends his head to receive the baptismal water from Saint John. On both sides, and with their gaze directed towards Jesus, two curly-haired archangels dressed in rich clothing contemplate the scene. We can observe many similarities in our archangels, in their disposition, the model used, and the same clothing. The painting can be considered as being conceived by Veronese, in order to paint the "Baptism of Christ" which is kept at the Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, dated c 1580 – 88. Also, the pink and green clothing, and the treatment of these which Veronese achieved, as well as the model used for the archangel, in his painting “Saint Agatha visited in prison by Saint Peter” dated 1566 and which is kept at the Church of San Pietro Martire in Murano, are very close to our painting. Another relevant painting is the Baptism of Christ at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia The pictorial quality and the hand of a master are undeniably seen on these canvases, which are on exhibition for the first time. Provenance: Andalusian, originally from Cordoba. The painting has remained in the same family for generations, probably since it was painted. At one time, for unknown reasons, the painting was divided into these three pieces.