Bidspirit auction | ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641) Follower

ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641) Follower - The Encounter of the Child Jesus with Saint John / Flemish School of the 17th Century - Oil on panel. Dimensions: 74 x 61 cm; 92 x 82 cm. In the lower right corner, the cataloging mark, probably from Buen Retiro, bears the number ”456”. Two full-length child figures dominate the scene: one of them, with a halo and cross, identified as Saint John, embraces and holds the other child, who allegorically represents the redeemed soul or a fallen angel. The composition, of great gestural and expressive intensity, combines an idealized canon with a symbolic charge linked to redemption and the struggle between good and evil. The dramatic chiaroscuro, the volumetric force of the bodies, and the use of contrasting light allow it to be related to models derived from the late Italian and Spanish Baroque. The scene is framed in a veiled architectural setting.