Exceptional Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, in the manner of Francisco Pacheco (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 1564 - ...

Exceptional Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, in the manner of Francisco Pacheco (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 1564 - Seville, 1644), Sevillian school of the 16th - 17th century
Oil on canvas, canvas measurements: 208 x 112, framed measurements: 217 x 121 cm. (Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz, 1564-Seville, 1644). Spanish painter and theorist. Although his painting did not reach high levels of quality, the theoretical work that he managed to carry out demonstrates the richness of the medium and the singularity of the personalities that he had the opportunity to meet, a reflection of the interests of the artistic thought of an entire epoch. Pacheco had an unknown Luis Fernández as his teacher between 1580 and 1585, and his training developed within the Mannerist current that, coming from Italy and Flanders, prevailed in Seville throughout the last third of the 16th century. He had the protection of his uncle, a canon and a prominent personality in the cultured environment of the city of Seville, who undoubtedly provided him with careful humanistic training. The knowledge of the royal collections and the painting of El Greco had to influence the improvement of the color treatment and the modeling of his works, allowing his preponderance in the Seville of the time until shortly before 1630. It was in those dates when the art de Pacheco went into frank decline as he could not compete with the new painters who dominated the Sevillian scene, such as Zurbarán or Herrera el Viejo, artists belonging to a younger generation and who carried some innovative pictorial ideas, more attractive than those that Pacheco had been practicing . This, however, must be appreciated in another very important facet: his didactic work as teacher of some of the most renowned Spanish artists, Alonso Cano and Velázquez. It was with the Sevillian with whom he had a unique relationship, perceiving the genius of the young apprentice and focusing his career towards the highest achievements. Reference bibliography: Pacheco, Francisco, The art of painting, Bonaventura Bassegoda i Hugas (ed.), Madrid, Cátedra, 1990. Provenance: important private collection, Spain.