L10237

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Lot 185
  • 185

Mateo Cerezo

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Mateo Cerezo
  • Saint Christopher carrying the Christ Child
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

Acquired by the parents of the present owners in 1991.

Condition

The colours in the catalogue illustration are far too vibrant: the painting is much more subtle in tone and colour palette than it appears in the reproduction. The canvas is unlined - an unusual feature for a painting on this scale - and there is a vertical seam running approx. 8 cm. from the lefthand edge. The canvas has been striplined and restretched onto a new stretcher. The picture surface appears to have been cleaned relatively recently, although some dirt is still ingrained in the recesses of the canvas weave (this is most apparent in the sky). There are a few repaired tears or damages that have been patched on the reverse: one occurs lower left, along the seam; another is a horizontal tear (approx. 15 cm.) just right of Christopher's right knee and a further damage to the left of it (6 by 2 cm.); two further repaired tears occur in the water lower right, running upwards from the lower edge, and these have also been patched on the reverse. The green pigment of Christopher's robe has deteriorated and now appears brown: this is an irreversible process. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals further minor scattered retouchings, for example in Saint Christopher's red drapery and along the extreme upper edge, but these do not affect crucial areas and the painting is in remarkably good condition for a work on this scale. The frame - black with gilded ribbon-and-flower motif - is later but in good condition, though with minor superficial damages.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

We are grateful to Benito Navarrete for endorsing the attribution to Mateo Cerezo on the basis of photographs.

This mature work by Cerezo may be closely compared to his Saint John the Baptist in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Kassel, which is unanimously dated to the early to mid-1660s, a time when he was heavily influenced not just by the Venetian colourists but by the paintings of Gaspar de Crayer, who was working concurrently with him in Burgos.1


1. See J.R. Buendía, I.G. Pastor, Mateo Cerezo, Burgos 1986, pp. 156-7, cat. no. 65, reproduced.