Francisco Gutiérrez

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 1992, lot 1;
There acquired by the present collector for $348,368.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has not been recently restored, but it looks very well regardless. There is a small unrestored loss to the immediate right of the central column, but there are otherwise no unrestored losses or damages. The varnish has slightly softened, and the painting is probably slightly dirty. The surface is rather smooth because of the lining. Old restorations are most numerous in the long wall on the right side, where some losses have occurred. However, the figures standing on the far right do not seem to be affected. There are other isolated retouches, but none of any real significance.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This painting is related to a group of works by the Spanish painter Francisco Gutiérrez depicting biblical subjects set within grandiose mannerist architectural settings. These include a set of six capriccios depicting Joseph in Heliopolis, the Arc of the Covenant, the Judgment of Solomon, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, the Betrothal of the Virgin, and Christ in the House of Simon the Pharisee, all now in the Colegiata at Villagarcia de Campos (Valladolid).¹  In addition, three of these paintings are recorded as signed on the reverse with the same monogram as that found on the reverse of the present painting before it was relined.  A similar architectural capriccio by Gutiérrez, also including the Finding of Moses, is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Bilbao and further examples of his work are in the Prado, Madrid and the Museum of Fine Arts, Seville. Little is known about the details of Gutiérrez’s life. He was active in Madrid and is probably the artist cited  as “Don Francisco Gutiérrez Cavello, pintor” in 1662 in relation to the estate of one doña Maria Pérez de Burgos.²  Stylistically, Gutierrez’s figure groups derive from Juan de la Corte, but his complex architectural renderings betray a likely knowledge of the engravings and designs from Northern and Central Europe, particularly the work of Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527-circa 1606).

The date of 1693, recorded on the reverse of this painting before it was lined, places it chronologically as one of the artist’s latest known works.  Recently, a pair of paintings by Gutiérrez, dated 1696 and 1698, also with the monogram F.GZ on the reverse, was sold at Sotheby’s London, 27 April 2016, lot 758.

1.  See D. Angulo Iñiguez and A.E. Perez Sanchez, Historia de la Pintura Española, Pintura Madrileña del Segundo Tercio del Siglo XVII, Madrid 1983, p. 72, cat. nos. 5-10, reproduced figs. 71-76.
2.  Ibid. p. 70.