FRANCISCO QUESADEZ

(Activo en Valencia en la segunda mitad del siglo XVII)

FRANCISCO QUESADEZ (Active in Valencia in the second half of the 17th century) "Saint Anthony of Padua and the miracle of the grafted foot" 1669

Oil on canvas. Bibliography: - Perez Sanchez, A.E., "Jeronimo Jacinto de Espinosa (1600-1667)", exhibition catalogue, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, 2000, p. 62. - Marco Garcia, V., "Baroque painting in Valencia (1600-1737)", CEEH, Madrid, 2021, early 349-350, fig. 115. The painter Francisco Quesadez remains one of the most enigmatic figures of Valencian Baroque painting. Very little is known about his biographical profile, and his place and date of birth are unknown, as is that of his death, which we assume occurred in the Kingdom of Valencia. Marcos Antonio de Orellana included him in his work dedicated to the biographies of Valencian artists (Orellana, ed. 1930, early 489-490), recalling that his main activity was engraving, although he also painted on occasion. The National Library houses a dozen prints signed by this artist, which demonstrate his great talent when it comes to creating compositions with religious themes and also in the portrait genre, as can be seen in the one of Pedro Alvarez Osorio, Marquis of Astorga. These exceptional skills can also be seen in this fantastic canvas, which is considered his most emblematic painting. The work is signed and dated with Greek characters, a fact that allows us to intuit that the artist possessed a certain erudition and literary culture. In formal aspects, Quesadez shows a great influence from the mature production of Jeronimo Jacinto de Espinosa, although his chromatic palette is much more varied and of brighter tones. His interest in the representation of architectural elements is also notable, creating a remarkable effect of depth in different successive planes that allow him to accommodate different narrative sequences of the same episode in the life of the saint protagonist. Finally, his skill in depicting flowers stands out in the painting, showing a wide botanical repertoire in the beautiful garland with bows that adorns and enlivens the scene in its upper part. The painting is also interesting from an iconographic point of view, as it represents an episode in the life of Saint Anthony of Padua that is not widely known. According to tradition, a man from Padua called Leonardo kicked his mother and was reproved by the saint. Repentant and full of remorse, he cut off his foot. The news spread throughout the city and reached the ears of Saint Anthony of Padua. After a prayer and making the sign of the cross, he re-grafted the amputated foot, performing a miracle that was witnessed by all those present. The scarcity of the painter's works, the depth of his composition, his technical quality and his original iconography,make this painting a key piece in the history of Valencian Baroque painting. Measurements: 269 x 163 cm.