Bidspirit auction | Old Masters - The Christ

Old Masters - The Christ Child, Saint John and the Lamb Oil Painting - An immense and important late 18th century oil painting on canvas after the Renaissance Old Masters and set in ornate 19th century frame. Palatial size measuring approx 75” tall x 55” wide (over 6ft x 4ft) including the frame and image sight size approx 61” tall x 40” wide. Unsigned yet, so extraordinarily executed could be or attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds. Original work by Peter Paul Rubens Anthony Van Dyke...displays..Saint John is depicted with his customary symbols, a cross with a ribbon bearing the motto ”Lamb of God”. Indeed, there is a lamb beside him, which the Christ Child tenderly pets. The fountain on the right is a double allusion to the Baptism of Christ and to his condition as the “fountain of life”. The close human and everyday vision of the two boys belongs to a tradition posterior to the Catholic Church´s Counterreformation, which this sort of votive scenes became popular among the faithful, and also among collectors of paintings. Van Dyck uses a composition that was quite customary in his double portraits, combining the frontal placement of one character with a scorcio profile of the other. This gave the works a greater formal dynamism. This painting was consecutively attributed to Jacob Jordaens, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony Van Dyck, and is probably the work that entered the Royal Collection in 1691 by way of the collection of the Marquis of El Carpio. Some signs of Light craquelure and old cleaning residues present as shown, see photos for details.It seems perhaps the techniques used in this painting are those styles often seen in Sir Joshua Reynolds works as depicted in the red sky and hues. Reynolds was the leading English portraitist of the 18th century. Through study of ancient and Italian Renaissance art, and of the work of Rembrandt, Rubens and Van Dyck, he brought great variety and dignity to British portraiture.Reynolds was born at Plympton in Devon, the son of a headmaster and fellow of Balliol College, Oxford: a more educated background than that of most painters. He was apprenticed in 1740 to the fashionable London portraitist Thomas Hudson, who also trained Wright of Derby. He spent 1749-52 abroad, mainly in Italy, and set up practice in London shortly after his return.He soon established himself as the leading portrait painter, though he was never popular with George III. He was a key figure in the intellectual life of London, and a friend of Dr Johnson. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first President. Although believing that history painting was the noblest work of the painter, he had little opportunity to practise it, and his greatest works are his portraits.His paintings are not perfectly preserved due to faulty technique. The carmine reds have faded, leaving flesh-tones paler than intended, and the bitumen used in the blacks has tended to crack CITE National Gallery see - Gent, A., Roy, A. and Morrison, R., ‘Practice Makes Imperfect: Reynolds's Painting Technique’, National Gallery Technical Bulletin Vol. 35, 2014, pp. 12–31v=please visit: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/media/23860/volume35essay2reynoldstech.pdfMany of Keywords found within Reynolds painting technique, conservation, cleaning, varnish, drying oil, wax, pine resin, mastic, copaiba balsam, copal, canvas, wood, metal, preparatory layers, sketches, underdrawing, dead colour, paint defects, vermilion, earth pigments, red lake, cochineal, ultramarine, Prussian blue, smalt, orpiment, Naples yellow, yellow lake, patent yellow, Cologne earth, bitumen, lead white, bone black, charcoal can be evident within this work, see photos. Condition: Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Premier Auction Galleries LLC shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections from the uses. We do our best to offer photos and some insight to the condition. We encourage personal inspection. Shipping should be considered before placing a bid. We do our best to accommodate Domestic shipping within the United States on smaller items. SOLD AS IS WHERE IS. Please do not bid if you are uncertain.