Bidspirit auction | Juan Carreño de Miranda (Concejo

Juan Carreño de Miranda (Concejo de Carreño 1614 - Madrid 1685) - Baptism of Jesus - In our opinion, this is undoubtedly an original painting by Spanish artist Juan Carreño de Miranda (Concejo de Carreño, Asturias 1614 - Madrid 1685). After studying the work and various copies made during the 17th and 18th centuries of this subject attributed to this painter's circle, we propose the thesis that it is the original sketch painted by Juan Carreño for the final painting of the same subject that the painter created, with its companion piece The Banquet of Herod, for the now-defunct parish church of San Juan in Madrid. After the demolition of this temple during the reign of the usurper King Joseph I Bonaparte, the large final canvas was moved to the current parish church of Santiago and San Juan in Madrid, where it is now on display. Our assertion is based on the different positions of compositional elements in this sketch that are contrary to the final version of the large painting, modifications that make this small work a sketch rather than a copy: the variation in color tone in the hair and clothing of God the Father, the different posture of Jesus, the different positions of the right hand with the shell of St. John, and, in particular, the opposite arrangement of the Baptist's staff, reinforce the hypothesis that this is an original sketch rather than a simple copy. Despite the state of conservation in some areas of the canvas, the undeniable quality of the pictorial details (God the Father, the heads of angels and cherubs, etc.) lead us to identify Carreño as the artist. Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 82 x 61.7 cm.