Pedro Núñez del Valle (1590-1649), The death of St. Alexis (circa 1625)

Pedro Núñez del Valle (Spanish, 1590-1649) The death of St. Alexis, circa 1625 Oil on canvas 68 x 53 inches (172.7 x 134.6 cm) Property from the Estates of Ramon Osuna and Robert Lennon, Washington, D.C. PROVENANCE: Christie's, South Kensington, April 9, 1987, lot 136. Saint Alexis, the patron saint of pilgrims and beggars (feast day: July 17), was the son of a Roman senator. In his youth he embraced Christianity; unaware of his conversion, his non-believing parents insisted on an arranged marriage. Committed to obeying them, he went through with the wedding but, afterwards, disguising himself as a pilgrim, he set sail for Tarsus, renowned for its association with Saint Paul. Alexis' ship, though, went off course; eventually, he landed in Ostia and then proceeded to Rome. As the late thirteenth-century text, The Golden Legend, relates, Alexis then said to himself: "Without making myself known, I shall dwell in my father's house, and thus be a burden to no one!" (The Golden Legend of Jacobus da Voragine [trans. from the Latin by G. Ryan and H. Ripperger], New York, 1969, p. 349). For seventeen years, he lived under the stairs in the cellar of his father's house, subsisting on scraps brought by his father's servants. When death seemed to approach, he wrote down an account of his life on parchment. That item, seen here in the saint's left hand, he kept in his tunic and was only recovered after his demise. Alexis' identity was thereupon revealed, to the astonishment and grief of his wife and parents. His remains, venerated to this day at Santi Bonifacio e Alessio in Rome, soon after worked several miracles. Displayed above at the latter church is the wooden staircase under which Saint Alexis lived. (See L. Menzies, The Saints in Italy. A Book of Reference to the Saints in Italian Art and Dedication, London, 1924, pp. 11-13.) Although the present, striking work is apparently unpublished and its original destination unknown, its large size indicates that it most probably was intended as an altarpiece. Its attribution to the Castillian artist Pedro Nuñez del Valle is due to José Gudiol (1904-1985; his photostat certificate, dated July 9, 1980, is cited in the catalogue for the London, Christie's sale, cited above). Early sources state that Pedro Nuñez del Valle was from Madrid, where he studied with Vicente Carducho. One early writer relates that he worked as a young painter in Rome. Indeed in 1613 and 1614 he is recorded as a member of the fine arts academy there, the Accademia di San Luca. No pictures from his time in Rome are known. However, he signed his earliest dated work, the Saint Orencio (San Lorenzo, Huesca, province of Aragon) of 1623, "Petrus Núñes Academicus Romanus." Another dated, high quality work is from 1626 and is done in a Caravaggesque style, with echoes of that of the French, Rome-based painter Nicolas Tournier (Amata collection, Rome; see J.T. Spike, "An Ecce Homo Signed and Dated 1626 by Pedro Nuñez," Studi di Storia dell'Arte, XI, 2000, pp. 261-264). The style of a painting hitherto attributed to the Caravaggesque painter, Cecco del Caravaggio (now identified as Francesco Boneri)—Jael and Sisera (signed; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin)—would suggest that the Spanish painter studied for a while with that artist in Rome (G. Papi, "Pedro Nuñez del Valle e Cecco del Caravaggio [e una postilla per Francesco Boneri]," Arte Cristiana, N.S., LXXIX, January-February 1991, pp. 39-50). In the 1630s Nuñez participated in collaborative projects for the royal residences: first, in 1633, for a hermitage on the grounds of the Buen Retiro Palace; and, secondly, for the Salón de Comedias in the Royal Alcazar Palace, in 1639. He died ten years later.

HID09710052018

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Condition Report: Wax lined canvas. A few areas of original canvas visible at extreme edges, some slightly lifting from supporting canvas with visible retouching. Canvas has been restretched onto a modern stretcher. An approximately 2-inch semicircular scratch in center of right edge. An approximately 6-inch horizontal repair tear extending inward from center of left edge. Finely patterned craquelure throughout, expanding into pigment separation in some areas, with scattered instances of more pronounced cracking, primarily appearing as horizontal lines. Very slight yellowing to varnish layer. Scattered faint scuffing. Surface dirt and dust. Faint vertical line running the length of the canvas at center, possibly a stretcher bar mark from original stretcher or canvas seam. Not examined out of frame due to size. Under UV: varnish fluoresces green unevenly. Retouching applied sporadically at edges. Retouching to aforementioned semicircular scratch at center right edge. Finely applied retouching to angel's right forearm, hair, left wrist, wings, and robes. Retouching to aforementioned repaired horizontal tear at center left. A brushy patch of retouching between the head of the saint and the halo. A few finely applied dots and dashes of retouching to the figure of the saint, particularly to his robe, with a few small dots and dashes applied to his cape, feet, socks, and satchel. Brushy retouching to the rock on which the saint is reclining. Framed Dimensions 80 X 65 X 1.75 Inches