Escuela andaluza; S. XVII

Andalusian school; late 17th century.
"Christ with the attributes of the Eucharist".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 44 x 21 cm.
In this work the author presents us with a glorious image of the figure of Christ. Inscribed in a break of glory, Jesus, situated in the centre of the composition is placed on a big blue orb, which represents the world. With one of his hands he holds the cross, while with the other he holds the symbols of the Eucharist.
Within this panorama, the leading role played by the Andalusian school of painting during the period known as the Golden Age is evident; a series of masters of unquestionable worth belong to it, who were able to combine extraordinary technical quality and religious depth in their works, in keeping with the atmosphere of their time, fully in tune with the tastes of the clientele, who were more interested in works with religious themes than in secular commissions, thus marking a substantial difference with respect to the production of other European countries. On the other hand, it is also worth noting that the economic development and the boom that Seville experienced after the Discovery, having become the gateway and port of the Indies, was quickly reflected in art; from the first decades of the century, masters of different origins began to flock to the city in search of the American market and the potential Sevillian clientele, increasingly attracted by the new artistic forms arriving from Italy. Italian, French and Flemish masters, with varying degrees of knowledge of the new aesthetics, alternate with artists from Castile, who have also come into contact with the artistic currents prevailing on the Italian peninsula, thus becoming the most sought-after artists on the art market. The teachings of all of them, together with the classical substratum inherent in Andalusian culture itself, were to form the foundations on which the Andalusian school of sculpture was to be built.