JERONIMO JACINTO DE ESPINOSA

(1600 / 1667)

JERONIMO JACINTO DE ESPINOSA Cocentaina (1600) / Valencia (1667) "San Nicolás de Tolentino"

Oil on canvas. Reference bibliography: - Pérez Sánchez, AE, "Jerónimo Jacinto de Espinosa (1600-1667)", exhibition catalogue, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, 2000. - Marco García, V., "Baroque Painting in Valencia (1600-1737)", CEEH, Madrid, 2021. Jerónimo Jacinto de Espinosa was the most important figure of the Valencian school of painting in the central decades of the 17th century. His works were highly appreciated since ancient times, being very frequent among the great collections of the nobility. Broadly speaking, they are characterized by the naturalism inherited from Francisco Ribalta and the use of a strongly contrasting type of lighting, in which his characters stand out against a neutral background. These are endowed with a great naturalistic sense, but at the same time with a solemn and severe gravity, managing to create very personal types of noble posture and very human quality, as can be seen in this unpublished work that represents Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. It stands out for the splendid portrait that characterizes Saint Nicholas of Tolentino, resolved in a naturalistic key and, surely, taken by the painter from a live model, since it moves away from conventional representations of the saint. Due to its detailed physiognomic features and the expressive look that demands the attention of the spectator, it seems that it is a “divine” portrait of some character of Valencian society who was contemporary with Espinosa. We also find in this work the characteristic technique of the painter, with a loose brushstroke and very diluted pigments that allow the reddish preparation of the canvas to emerge on the surface. These stylistic characteristics correspond to the mature stage of the painter, and could have been executed in the middle years of the century. It may be a painting made between 1648 and 1652, when Valencia suffered the scourge of two plague epidemics. In this sense, we must not forget the fact that Saint Nicholas of Tolentino is known for being the patron saint of souls in purgatory, but in times past he was invoked as a protector of this disease. Espinosa shows him in this composition in accordance with his traditional iconography: wearing the black habit of the Augustinian order with a golden star on it, carrying a lily in allusion to his chastity and a partridge on a plate. The bird is a symbol of his austerity and alludes to the episode in his life when, sick for having refused to eat for several days, his companions offered him some stewed partridges that later brought him back to life, becoming one of his most famous miracles. The star in the sky was the one he saw in a dream as a portent of his holiness, which rose in the place where he was born and then went to Tolentino to rest on the altar of the oratory where he celebrated mass daily and said his prayers.Measurements: 132.5 x 97 cm.