Bidspirit auction | Chapel project - Eulogio Oliva

Chapel project - Eulogio Oliva (Palencia 1852 - Villaconejos 1925) - Original painting created and signed by Spanish painter Eulogio Oliva y Rodrigo (Palencia 1852 - Villaconejos, Madrid 1925). A work of significant quality, it shows what we consider to be one of the different proposals intended for the pictorial decoration of the walls of the so-called Chapel of King Charles III, currently preserved in the church of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid. The interest of this proposal lies in the fact that it was not the final design used to decorate the chapel, but rather an unknown design with added interest. This small canvas depicts three scenes from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi on the upper vault, corresponding architecturally to three other scenes of allegorical Christian female personifications, perhaps the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Oliva's involvement in such a prominent religious building in Madrid was due to the fact that in 1885, the Spanish master painter Casto Plasencia (1846-1890) recommended Eugenio Oliva as one of the painters he proposed to decorate the chapel. This intervention led to his appointment in 1889 as Commander of the Order of Queen Isabella the Catholic by the Spanish Government. Other notable mural works followed this one, such as the decoration of the boardroom of the Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Madrid (now dismantled) and, in particular, the decoration of the Casa de Expósitos y Hospicio Provincial in Palencia, with religious themes, where we have found compositional connections in specific aspects between this decoration and the sketch in question. Provenance: Madrid, Segre Auctions, 17 December 2019, lot 137-A, p. 59. Private collection. Dimensions: 61.5 x 46.5 cm (support); 78.5 x 64 x 8 cm (frame)