Juan SOREDA (active in Castile from 1520-21 to 1546-49). - Lot 20

Lot n° 20
Go to lot
Estimation :
2500 - 4000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 2 886EUR
Juan SOREDA (active in Castile from 1520-21 to 1546-49). - Lot 20
Juan SOREDA (active in Castile from 1520-21 to 1546-49). Saint John the Baptist. Panel. (Small accidents.) Height 80 cm ; Width : 51 cm. The forerunner of Christ appears full-length in the foreground, in a wooded landscape, near a spring flowing into a small basin, no doubt alluding to the water of baptism. Dressed in a camel's hair mantle covered by a wide drapery tied over his left shoulder, the saint holds the sacred book in which the lamb, symbol of Christ, rests, pointing with his right index finger to the text from John (1:29): "Look, here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world". In a clear contraposto position, with the drapery of the cloak and the gesture of the right arm twisted and elongated, this Saint John the Baptist has an oval, bearded face, a rebellious look and shaggy hair. This vehemence reflects the authoritarian nature of the injunction, and places this work in the Castilian Mannerist movement of the early 16th century. The work is attributed to Juan Soreda, one of the leading exponents of this style in the Valladolid region. Long known as the Master of Olivares del Duero, then confused with Juan de Pereda, Juan Soreda, a painter of Catalan or Valencian origin, trained in the circle of Pablo de San Leocadio and the Osonas. His early style reflects the influence of Juan de Borgoña, particularly evident in the Bolea altarpiece (A. Padron Merida, "El retablo de Bolea y sus autores", in Goya, Madrid 1994, no. 241-242, p. 22-31). Settled in Castile at the beginning of the 16th century, he gradually assimilated Italian models (Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo), disseminated through possible stays in Italy and through his knowledge of engravings. Documented in Sigüenza between 1520 and 1528, he executed the Santa Librada altarpiece (1526-1528), marked by Raphaelesque refinement, and a predella with Apostles where Michelangelo's vigor is beginning to show. (Cf. Ana Avila Padron, "El pintor Juan Soreda, estudio de su obra" in Goya,1979, p. 136-145). Our Saint John the Baptist can be compared to the Saint Peter of this predella (cf. Avila Padron op. cit. pl.VI, p. 139), whose dynamic body and penetrating gaze allow us to situate the execution of our panel in the third decade of the 16th century, after 1520, on Soreda's return from his trip to Italy and before his participation in the Olivares del Duero altarpiece, where anatomical power, a taste for the nude and dramatization (ex. (cf. J.J. Martin Gonzalez, "Actualidad del retablo mayor de Olivares del Duero" Boletin del seminario de estudios de arte y arqueologia, 1987, no. 53 p. 372-374). Part I: Thursday, June 18, 2026 - Chapter 1: Old drawings & paintings from various enthusiasts Expert : Stéphane PINTA | Cabinet TURQUIN.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue