Post on 08-Jun-2020
31Alberto VelascoAlejo Fernández (doc. 1496-1545)
Jesus on the Way to CalvarySeville, around 1510-1520
Oil painting on oak wood109.7 x 91.2 cm
Provenance / France, private collection.
Literature / Nicholas Herman, “Alejo Fernández (c. 1475-1545). The Arrest of Christ”, in Susie Nash (ed.), Late Medieval Panel Paintings II.
Materials, Methods, Meanings, London, Sam Fogg, 2015, p. 117, fig. 20 (illustrated).
Medieval and Renaissance Spain Paintings and sculpture from 1200 to 1550, London, Sam Fogg, 2017, p. 94, fig. 1 (illustrated) (catalog entry by
Nicholas Herman).
32 33SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
DescriptionThe painting shows one of the episodes from the Passion, the one in which
Jesus walks towards the Golgotha in order to be crucified. Christ is in the
center, carrying the cross, which rests over his left shoulder and which he
holds by the transom with both hands. His face is right in the center of the
picture plane, at the exact point where also the arms of the cross crisscross,
thus the audience must focus attention there. The weight of the wood
makes him bend his body. The effort can be seen in his face, which, even
though it looks calm, it suggests an evident fatigue. Jesus goes barefoot
and wears a blue tunic with golden borders in sleeves, neck and lower part.
He carries the crown of thorns in his head and blood goes down through
his face and neck. The halo has been done with gold foil and has been
outlined in black, while in the interior some curt rays appear that were
made with a sharp tool, as the ones of the rest of the characters.
Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the weight of the cross, as the Gospels
of Mark, Matthew, and Luke tell. He wears a simple red wine colored coat
with white light tones, which are very dramatic and play with chromatic
degradation. His figure acts as a counterbalance to the presence of the
Jews that martyr and hinder the Son of God’s walk. One of them holds a
rope with a loop that he has put around Jesus’ neck and that he is ready
to tighten. Another Jew is hidden by the cross and raises his right arm
to punish Jesus with a rope he uses as a whip; while a third Jew, also half
hidden, appears behind Christ, at the other side of the cross.
Before the pace of the pathetic procession, a woman wearing an ethereal
white mantle and a grayish tunic prostrates before Jesus and shows him
a veil. She is Veronica, the woman that cleaned Christ’s face with a piece
of cloth on his way to the Golgotha. Her head is masterfully depicted
under one of the Jews’ sleeve, and her clothing becomes a powerful spot
of color that focuses the audience attention. To the left of the piece, right
in front of Simon of Cyrene and on the other side of the cross, a group
of characters consisting of the Maries and John the Evangelist appears, all
of them with golden halos. The Mother looks at her Son in an apparently
impassive and restrained way, while John, with both hands together as a
sign of prayer and with fingers crossed, looks at Mary.
On the right, the terrible retinue towards mount Golgotha continues;
there, Christ and the two thieves will receive punishment and death.
The thieves were Dimas and Gestas, and in this painting they appear
backwards, guarded by different Roman centurions. Their bodies are
naked and one of them is handcuffed with a rope that one of the soldiers
is holding. In a meandering way, the procession climbs to the fatal place.
It is mainly composed of centurions that are not dressed as such, but as
anachronistic soldiers of the early 16th century. Some of them walk and
others ride horses, some have lances and others pikes, but all of them
carry golden armors made of gold leaf. The character that concludes the
dramatic procession must be excluded, a man with thick black hair that
blows a horn. In the upper part of the mount, two men dig and prepare
the crosses for the prisoners.
The action takes place in a natural environment where greenish and
brownish tones prevail, with flat large surfaces among which few
vegetable elements, as foreground herbs and bushes, protrude. This
favors the characters because they gain presence and can be seen in a
clear way. In an apparent strange way – we will then see that it is not
so –, the painter depicted a big mound in the ax of the composition, a
geographical feature that blocks the vision of a dilapidated building that
appears in the background. In turn, behind it he placed a second mount
crowned with a simple house and some trees that hides the background
landscape, represented in a bluish gradation. Finally, to the left, in front
of a river, a pink walled building can be seen; it stands out for its classical
configuration drawn from a big tower and a porch with rounded arches.
IconographyThe Way to Calvary is one of the usual episodes in the cycles dedicated
to the Passion, and one of the most explicit as regards the suffering that
the Son of God was subjected to. The story is told in the four Gospels
(Matthew 27: 31-33, Mark 15: 20-22, Luke 23: 26-32, and John 19:
16-18), even though from the 13th century large Christocentric sources
introduced many details and anecdotes related to the episode that were
not in the canonical Gospels. All of these stories narrate different incidents
that happened to Jesus outside Jerusalem during his journey – Via Dolorosa
– to the Golgotha, where he was going to be crucified. Therefore, it is one
of the last scenes from the Passion of Jesus and it precedes the Crucifixion.
This is shown in our panel painting through the arrangements that are
taking place in the mount located to the right of the audience, where we
can see that the installation of the crosses is coming to an end.
The aim of these extremely dramatic scenes was to affect the faithful
that prays before them. This is pointed out by Jesus bleeding face, or the
cruelty and violence he was treated with, since he was tied up through
the neck and dragged like an animal.1 Torturers’ violence and brutality
is manifested in the psalms and Gospel texts, and it is a topic with
many late Christocentric texts that came to identify tormentors with
animals. In the particular case where Christ is shown bearing the cross,
surrounded by angry Jews, psalm 21 says that “circundederunt me canes
multi” (I was surrounded by many dogs) (Psalms 21: 17) that prevent
Mary from approaching his Son.2
This is exactly what is represented in the panel we are studying, following
a well-known model in Europe. Besides, the painter has depicted the
screams, the ferocity and expressivity of the Jews, which contrast with
the peacefulness of the beatific faces of those who accompany Jesus.3
That confrontation can also be appreciated in the color scheme of the
landscape, where we can see that the pink building on the background,
the blue setting and the green tone of the mounts contrasts with the
brownish tone, the poor vegetation and the dry appearance of the
road that guides Jesus to his death.4 The grim tone of the road is only
interrupted by the white and immaculate presence of Veronica, who still
does not show in her veil the printed image of Christ’s Vera Facies, thus
inviting the audiences to complete the manifestation of the miracle with
their imagination.5
The presence of the Jews incorporates different iconographic issues that
are interesting to comment. Some of them wear clothes that reinforce
their negative character. Thus, the one who has put the rope around
Christ’s neck is wearing a sort of shirt in red and blue tones that give
way to a fantastic iridescent, a detail that is repeated in the biretta and
that exhibits the painter’s great domain in the application of glazing.
The garment, which reveals part of the character’s chest through a large
neckline, does not cover his arms because it is short sleeved. Narrowing
his waistline is a black belt where he carries a hammer that let us identify
the character with one of those that would nail Christ to the cross. Half-
nakedness can also be seen in his legs, since we can see that he is wearing
breeches rolled up to his knees, and in the footwear, as he is wearing a
lightweight sandal that completely exposes his left foot and a kind of boot
that covers his right one, even though toes are shown. The half-naked
body of the character reminds us the image of the fool, the one who
does not recognize the word of the Gospels and who denies the divine
nature of the Son of God.6 This is also reinforced with the presence of
two different types of footwear. Another peculiar detail is the kind of
band aid that he has in his left leg, under the knee, which strengthens the
character’s absurdity with an almost imperceptible detail.
The same ridiculousness appears in the characterization of the second
Jew; a character with a grotesque face that tries to whip Jesus with
a rope he uses as a lash. As in the previous case, we can see part of
his legs, and he is wearing a shirt with the same large neckline that
reveals part of his chest. It is yellow, which is not a trivial detail since
in the Middle Ages this color was frequently associated with Jews.7 Its
negativity is reinforced with its ragged nature because it is torn in the
chest and in the neck, besides it has a delicate mend also in the neck.
These are almost imperceptible features that again show the great eye
for details that the painting has as well as the technical outstanding
the painter performed in its materialization. As regards the Jew who is
behind Christ, at the other side of the cross, he has a color combination
of green breeches and orange shirt, which present him as a negative
character. On his hand he has a stick with which he seems to be ready
to whip Jesus’ legs, in addition to pliers that he carries in his belt, which
identify him as another one of the executioners that will nail Christ to
the cross. His outrageously shaped hat, and the one that wears the Jew
that is holding Christ by the neck, represents folly and barbarism of the
ones who wear them.
34 35SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
Composition and modelsComposition certifies that the painter knew the models widespread in
the prints field. On the first place, the influence of engravers such as
Schongauer and Dürer can be seen.8 The most evident borrowing can be
found in the couple of characters integrated by the Virgin and John the
Evangelist who, due to their position, gesture and posturing seem to have
been copied from the woodcut that Dürer stamped in 1509. On the other
hand, the character that is holding Christ by his neck reminds us the ones
present in different Dürer’s prints, specifically a woodcut from 1498-1499
and an engraving from 1512.9 Besides, in the same print there is a soldier
shouting to the right of Christ, a character that clearly resembles the
executioner that screams in the same position in our painting, although it is
not the case of a centurion. This kind of character, also located near Christ
and who is distinguished by his scream, can be found in Schongauer’s
previous compositions, such as an engraving from around 1475-1480.10
In that work from the master of Colmar, to the right of Christ is a Jew
flipping a rope in the air, which is exactly the same action the shouting
character of our painting is performing. Nevertheless, even a closer case
can be found in a print from Hans Schaüfelein, a German master who
was Dürer’s disciple and was active in the beginnings of the 16th century,
where we can see a very similar character to the one in the panel we are
analyzing: located in the same place, he raises his right arm holding a rope
and he is strongly shouting.11 Therefore, it stands out that the painter
knew these models from the Germanic world and that adapted them in a
versatile and creative way. Another engraving our author seems to know,
most probably through intermediate models, is a drypoint of the Master
of the Amsterdam Cabinet, who was active in South Germany around
1475-1490,12 where we can see that the two characters to the right, that is,
the Jew who is in front of Jesus and the backwards soldier, are in a similar
position to the ones in the painting that concerns us.
The strong Germanic ascendant of the painter of Jesus on the Way to Calvary
can also be noticed in the undeniable coincidences with a panel painting
kept in the Musée du Louvre (inv. MNR 444) related to the circle of the
Master of Delft (Fig. 1), a Germanic painter who was active around 1480-
1520.13 In our opinion, both pieces originate from a common model. The
organization of the scene is similar in both cases and details that strongly
capture our attention are repeated: the position of Christ and Simon of
Cyrene, the type of cross, the soldier to the right with a lance over his
shoulder, the military procession that ascends to the Golgotha, where
we can also see horses and soldiers on the mount, the blue landscape on
the background, the architecture on the left side, and, finally, the same
way of treating the natural environment with brown and green tones,
including, moreover, the central mounds that complete the painting.
Fig. 1 / Circle of the
Master of Delft, Jesus
on the Way to Calvary,
Paris, Musée du Louvre.
Fig. 2 / Anonymous
Master, Jesus on
the Way to Calvary,
Monastery of Salem
(Germany).
36 37SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
The attribution: technical issuesAs regards the attribution of the panel, its style must be undoubtedly
related to Alejo Fernández. This has been recently certified by Nicholas
Herman, who made the panel painting known – it was unpublished until
that moment – when he was studying a compartment of an altarpiece with
the representation of The Betrayal of Christ (Fig. 3), which, because of its
style, characteristics and dimensions, was part of the same retable that our
Jesus on the Way to Calvary. That author had access to an old photograph of
the panel painting and he presented it as a piece with unknown location.20
Fortunately, the piece has come to light again and we can study it today.
Besides the style and the dimensions (109.5 x 92 cm, The Betrayal of
Christ) the fact that both panel paintings belong to the same retable is
certified by the trace of the missing polylobed carpentry that remains in
the upper part of the Way to Calvary, with four arches separated by a kind
of little brackets. The two in the extremes are reduced archs, a feature
that is repeated in both compartments. The coincidences can be traced in
many other aspects. We see the same treatment of the scarce foreground
vegetation; the armors of the soldiers are similar, in their parts as well as in
the use of gilding; and the configuration of the halos, outlined in black, is
equally analogous. The bluish tones of Christ’s robe, which in both cases
has golden borders in neck, sleeves and lower part, are also repeated. The
color green with light reflections of Peter’s robe in The Betrayal of Christ
reappears in the breeches of one of the Jews in Jesus on the Way to Calvary.
Even the kind of corded sandal that the Jew holding Christ by the neck
wears is the same we see in the Jew who is flipping the rope in the air in
the scene of the arrest.21
Moreover, the technical study of Jesus on the Way to Calvary has certified
this joint origin.22 Both compartments were built with four boards of
Baltic oak, which were assembled with the same lace system. Our panel
was slightly lowered in the back part in order to apply the engatillado
(cradling) that presents nowadays. On the other hand, The Betrayal of
Christ still has part of the preparation with gesso and hemp fibers over
which two crossbars were recently added. Although the lowering of our
panel, the width of the boards is equal to the ones of The Betrayal of
Christ, that is to say, 2.8 cm (aprox.). In both cases, recent repainting
on the black reserve of the missing gilded carpentry has been detected.
Regarding the underlying drawing, in both compartments the use of
carbonated ink coincides. As we can observe in infrared reflectography,
the drawing is vigorous and shows the special features of Alejo Fernández,
with few pentimenti. One of those regrets affects the same element in
both panels. We are referring to the cords that some of the Jews hold,
which were previously drawn longer than the ones the painter finally
executed in the pictorial phase.
Another aspect that the corresponding technical studies have highlighted
is that both compartments suffered some deterioration caused by the
proximity of candles, as can be seen in some areas of the pictorial surface.
In turn, this shows that they were part of a predella of the retable. Oil
paint was the binding agent used for the pigments. In both cases, Christ’s
tunic shows a bluish tone that allows seeing the use of azurite mixed
with white lead, maybe with the addition of ultramarine blue on a top
layer. In the dark parts of the tunic, residues from a red glazing used to
reinforce those shadows were documented in both cases. There is also a
significant coincidence in the application of glazing over some elements
of the soldiers’ armors, or the use of black pigment to reinforce the cords
of belts and other accessories. The coat of mail was made with little black
lines that were applied over the gold leaf. In both panels, we can also see
the same way of making the golden halos, which are with incised rays
following Northern models. Christ has a Cruciferous halo that shows in
both compartments an equal treatment of the red color to make the arms
of the cross.
Fig. 3 / Alejo
Fernández, The
Betrayal of Christ,
London, Sam Fogg.
All of these parallels between an active painter in Castile at the beginnings
of the 15th century and another one more or less contemporary that works
in the area of Delft (Netherlands) are surprising if they are not adequately
contextualized, which is what we will do further on.
To this we should add other parallels that reinforce what was mentioned.
In the first place, we cite a panel painting with the same topic of the
Rhenish Derick Baegert from around 1480-1490 (Münster, Westfälisches
Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte),14 where we see the
soldier with a lance over his shoulder reappearing on the right, pointing to
the interior of the composition, as in the painting we are analyzing and in
the already mentioned panel of the Master of Delft kept in the Musée du
Louvre. An engraving of around 1505-1508 of the also mentioned Hans
Schaüfelein shows a soldier of similar characterization, what illustrates us
about his widespread distribution in the Germanic environment.15
On the other hand, the composition of our painting resembles in many
points the one shown in a painting of Wolfgang Katzheimer the Elder in
the Stifsmuseum of Sankt Florian (Austria),16 and also one of the panels of
the Rothenburg Passion in the Reichsstadtmuseum (1494),17 where we see a
similar distribution and characterization of Simon of Cyrene, Mary, John
the Evangelist or the Jew who grabs Jesus through his chest. We should also
mention a panel painting in the Monastery of Salem (Fig. 2), near Konstanz
(Germany), which coincides in the attitude and position of Mary and John
the Evangelist and, above all, of the Jews to the right, the one holding
Christ with a rope and the one who carries a mace on the shoulder in the
painting of Salem. Due to his location in front of the cross and in profile,
the last one must also be related to the character that is blowing a horn
in our panel painting.18 This iconographic detail reappears in a Way to
Calvary attributed to the workshop of the Master of Crailsheim Altar kept
in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum of Nuremberg, of around 1490-
1500. The topic has a long tradition in the Germanic world and is seen
in some of the works of the Master of the Karlsruhe Passion of mid 15th
century, as a compartment of the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne
or another one in the Staatliche Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe, where in both
cases the horn is substituted by trumpets.19 All in all, it is interesting to
highlight these important iconographic connections with the Germanic
environment because they will help us establish what we propose further
on about our author.
38 39SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
Alejo Fernández, painterAlejo Fernández is a painter documented in Andalusia between 1496 and
1545, a large period of time that covers from the last breath of the late
gothic to the full consolidation of the Renaissance forms.23 Although
it is believed that he was born towards 1475, the first documentary
sources we have locate him in the Cordova of the nineties, where he
married María, daughter of the painter Pedro Fernández. That might
have been useful for him to have a good work positioning in the artistic
Cordovan setting. It is also possible that he adopted the surname of the
Fernández for professional reasons. As regards documented orders, from
that moment there is only indirect news about the accomplishment of
different retables for the monastery of San Jerónimo de Córdoba, which
are not preserved.24
Around 1508, he moved to Seville with his brother Jorge, sculptor with
whom he frequently collaborated, where they became involved in the
realization of the main retable of the cathedral. It was a project that
received a new impulse under the archbishopric of Diego de Deza and
in which Alejo worked until 1525.25 Even though it was a sculptured
retable, documents corroborate that Alejo played an important role
in its design and materialization. From his arrival to the capital of
Seville, his prestige increased until he became the main painter in
a city where in 1526 worked more than thirty painters.26 Therefore,
Alejo was undoubtedly the most important Sevillian master of the first
third of the 16th century, which led many painters to imitate his style
and his way of working.27 That is the case of Juan de Zamora, author
of two retables for the Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
and the retable of Cala (Huelva), which, together with the Virgin
of Los Remedios of Santa Ana de Triana, show a great ascending of
Alejo’s art.28
In his workshop, which was first settled in the colación (neighborhood)
of San Ildefonso and later in the one of San Pedro, he received orders
not only from the Sevillian surroundings, but also from other places
of the Crown of Castile, like Cuenca or Burgos. From those years
date the documented commands for the Seville Cathedral (portrait
of King Ferdinand, 1508); Monastery of the Cartuja (two retables,
1509); Seville Cathedral (repair of a painting, 1510); Church of
Santa María of Carmona (realization of a custodia, 1510); Seville
Cathedral (miniatures for a book and unspecified job, 1514 and
1520); Santa Clara of Seville (order for a retable in cooperation with
Pedro Fernández de Guadalupe and Antón Sánchez, 1520); Seville
Cathedral (muestras for a retable and rejas (ironwork), 1520); Church
of San Juan and of the Hospital de la Sangre in Jerez de la Frontera
(several retables and polychromed images, 1520 and 1523); San
Juan of Marchena (payments for the realization of a retable, 1520-
1521); unspecified job in Cuenca (1522); Santa María de Manzanilla
(Huelva) (retable, 1525); entrance of Charles V in Seville (1526);
Seville Cathedral (retable for the chapel of Mencía de Salazar,
1527); Monastery of San Pablo of Seville (retable for Constanza de
Guzmán, 1528); church of Santiago in Jerez de la Frontera (retable in
cooperation with other painters, 1543); and, finally, church of San
Pedro in Seville (repair of an image and painting of a retable, 1543
and 1544-1545, respectively).29
As regards well-known or preserved works, the sarga with the Christ
tied to the Column and Donors kept at the Museo de Bellas Artes de
Córdoba (Fig. 4), which has been dated in around 1500,30 the triptych
of the Lord’s Supper of the Basilica of Pilar in Saragossa,31 and The
Flagellation in the Museo Nacional del Prado (Fig. 5) correspond to
the early work of the artist from Cordova.32 From his Seville stage,
four Marian panels are kept at the Seville cathedral and, at first,
were placed on the back of the beam of the main retable. They were
made between 1508 and 1513.33 The retable which is still kept at the
chapel of the Maese Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella is from around
1510-1520 (Fig. 6).34 Sancho de Matienzo (†1521) was from Burgos
and ended up as a Canon at the Seville cathedral. He commissioned
Alejo Fernández to make two retables intended to be placed in the
Franciscan convent in Villasana de Mena (Burgos), dedicated to
the Conception and the Virgin of the Milk, the latter signed by the
painter in its main compartment. They have been dated in around
1517-1521, and perished during the Spanish Civil War.35
Fig. 5 / Alejo Fernández, The
Flagellation, Madrid, Museo
Nacional del Prado.
Fig. 4 / Alejo Fernández,
Christ tied to the Column
and Donors, Cordova,
Museo de Bellas Artes
de Córdoba.
40 41SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
A second Marian panel which is signed is the Madonna of the Rose of the
church of Santa Ana in Seville (circa 1525),36 and not long ago, it was
found out that the panel with the Virgin and Child of the Archbishop’s
Palace in Seville was also an autograph work.37 Alejo Fernández also
signed one Adoration of the Magi, which used to be part of the collection
of the Conde de la Viñaza, and one Saint John the Baptist which has been
in a private collection in Madrid for years.38 An Archangel Saint Gabriel
(86 x 61 cm), which appeared in the market a few years ago, dated in
around 1515-1520, must be part of an Annunciation.39 It must have been
together with a second panel with the Virgin Mary, which is unknown.
However, the general style, the face modeling, the type of halo, and the
gilded decoration of Gabriel’s robe collar are directly linked with a Virgin
and Child with Saint Anne and donors, unpublished and recently auctioned
in Seville, which also presents similar measurements (96 x 62 cm).40 To
that we should add the repetition of the textile canopy of the back side
and the type of cornice that appears next to a Saint Anne and also in the
belvedere behind Gabriel. All these coincidences let us assume that both
panels were part of the same retable.
In collaboration with another painter, around 1526-1527, Alejo Fernández
worked on the retable of the Lamentation over the Dead Christ of the
cathedral of Seville, paid for by Mencía de Salazar.41 A Beheading of Saint
John the Baptist has also been dated in that time – around 1525-1530
–, which appeared in the market in 1997.42 Among his later works –
between 1531 and 1536 – is The Virgin of the Navigators (Fig. 7), central
panel of the altarpiece in the Casa de Contratación (the House of Trade)
in Seville, which is today exhibited in the Alcázar of the city.43
Since the twenties, Alejo’s assistants played a leading role due to the large
number of commissions received at the workshop. This is why retables
such as the one of Écija,44 and even the one of Marchena – a work
documented around 1520-1521, and definitively installed in 1533 –, show
an obvious stylistic dissonance with previous works.45 Something similar
could be said about the so-called Triptych of the Virgin of the Angels of
the Marquesa de Hoyos old collection (Jérez de la Frontera), a fictitious
ensemble of panels which has been recently recovered for his catalog of
Fig. 6 / Alejo Fernández,
retable of the chapel of the
Maese Rodrigo Fernández de
Santaella, Sevilla.
Fig. 7 / Alejo Fernández,
retable of the The Virgin of the
Navigators., Seville, Alcázar.
42 43SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
works, and which has not been attributed clearly by the historiography.46
The same happens with the Crown of Thorns of the Museo de Cádiz, which
would be another example of how difficult it is to distinguish between the
master’s autograph works and those where the workshop’s intervention was
predominant.47
Angulo also published a rich set of works, of private and public
collections, about which he demanded detailed studies to determine
the degree of intervention of the master in them. Among them was the
Annunciation of the Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla, one Annunciation
and one Adoration of the Magi – on canvas – being traded in Madrid,48
one Prayer in the Garden and one Flagellation of the Conde de Montseny’s
collection, the aforementioned panels of the Marquesa de Hoyos, the
retable of Marchena, or the Flagellation of the Museo Nacional del Prado
(Fig. 5), the authorship of which is no longer disputed.49
After the publications by Angulo and Post, the painter’s works catalog
has been increased with new attributions, such as the retable of Saint
Martin of Villanueva de la Jara (Cuenca), which may be linked with
the documented trip of the painter to Cuenca in 1522.50 A Doubting
Thomas of the church of Hinojos (Huelva)51 and a Joachim and Anna
Meeting at the Golden Gate of the parish of Espera (Cádiz) have been
attributed to him.52 We should add a Descent from the Cross which was
being traded in London in 194353 and a panel of the same theme, of
good quality and dimensions (188 x 186 cm), which was auctioned in
Sotheby’s in 2010.54 Nonetheless, it is difficult to assert the degree of
participation of Alejo in all of them, but some of them must have been
made at the workshop or even by contemporary painters from Seville
who had been influenced by his style.
In his prolific workshop, the work of which was intensified since 1520, his
son Sebastián Alejo and his slave Juan de Güejar worked together with
the master. He collaborated with other painters, with whom he shared
orders, such as Juan de Mayorga, Pedro Fernández, Antón Sánchez de
Guadalupe or Cristóbal de Cárdenas, his brother-in-law. The fact that
he was a versatile artist is shown by his work being documented as a
manuscript illuminator, and even a miniature of a choir book of the
Cathedral of Seville has been attributed to him (no. 51).55 And also his
work as a painter of religious sculptures – some of which were sent to
Portugal –, which we have documented before.
As regard his personal life, we know he wrote his first will and testament
in 1523, when he was already a widower of María Fernández, a
document where he requires to be buried in the Dominicans monastery
of San Pablo. He freed his slave Juan de Güejar, whom he gave goods
and muestras so that he could carry out his trade, and forced him to
serve in his son’s workshop for four years. This will and testament tells
us that he had three more children: Catalina, Fernando, and Luisa – a
fifth son, Fernando, had died before.56 A document from 1525 tells us
that he had remarried to Catalina de Avilés, the painter Cristóbal de
Cárdenas’s sister-in-law, who was his friend and executor.
He made a second will and testament in 1542, which states that
his son Sebastián Alejo and his old servant Juan had died. This
document is interesting because it offers a relation of several orders
he had started right when his first wife had died (before 1523),
including the beam of the main retable of the Cathedral of Seville,
the retable of the church of Marchena, a retable for the chapel of
the jurado Nicolás Durango in the Cathedral, a sculpted image
intended to go to Portugal, a retable paid for by the council of
Seville for an unspecified parish, or a retable for Sanlúcar promoted
by the lawyer Ribera, among others. It also states that Alejo had
an accounting book where he, his son and his servant had entered
the corresponding data.57 He had a well-off economic status, based
on his asset growth from his arrival in Seville to the dates where
he made his two wills. This was possible due to the large number
of orders he received and his good business management, which
allowed him to have many real estate properties, servants, and
even slaves from different places, as well as making donations for
captives’ redemption.58
44 45SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
The panels of Jesus on the Way to Calvary and The Betrayal of Christ in the master’s careerOnce the painter’s career has been analyzed, we should contextualize in it
the compartment of Jesus on the Way to Calvary and its accompanying panel
with The Betrayal of Christ (see. fig. 3). To begin with, we should point out
that those two panels cannot be linked with any of the ensembles that are
known today as Alejo Fernández’s or any of his documented works. We do
not know to which retable they belonged, but we should assume that they
may have been part of an altar made by Alejo for a parish in Seville or its
environment. The retable must have been separated in an indefinite time
and both panels were traded. Besides the technical and stylistic evidence
that put them together and allow us to assign a common origin, we should
consider that both panels went through French collections,59 which means
that they must have left Spain together and traded at the same time.
Among the works related with our painter and his direct entourage, the
theme of Christ going to the Golgotha carrying the cross only appears in
one of the compartments of the retable in Santiago de Écija, which should
be dated around 1520-1530. Although the composition is still a different
and upside-down model, we can see parallelisms in the shape of Jesus and
in the soldier who rests on the cross and whips him with a stick, which
is similar to the one in our panel bashing Jesus with a rope. This curious
and expressive character is similar to a few more works by the painter, the
Flagellation in the Museo Nacional del Prado (see. fig. 5) and in one of the
paintings with scenes of the life of Saint Giles kept in Écija, in particular,
that where the saint cures a possessed person.60
Stylistically, the panel of Jesus on the Way to Calvary points to the first years
of Alejo Fernández in Seville, that is, since 1508.61 This is based on the links
we have observed, for example, with the alleged panels of the bean of the
main retable of the Cathedral, which are dated in around 1508-1513. So we
can see a great similarity between Christ’s face and Saint Joachim’s face in
the Meeting at the Golden Gate, between the Simon of Cyrene with one of
the Magi that is kneeling in the Epiphany, or the faces of the Marys with the
feminine characters of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple. The Veronica of
the panel we are studying responds to the same physical type as Saint Anne in
the Meeting at the Golden Gate, with a face of clear Northern origin which we
will see throughout Alejo’s career. We will see it, for example, in some feminine
characters in the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist of the retable in Marchena.
We can also see clear similarities between the face of Mary and the
archangel Gabriel in one of the compartments of the retable of Maese
Rodrigo, dated around 1510-1520. In that work, in the panel with the
Pentecost, Saint Peter shows a profile face with features that are identical
to Simon of Cyrene’s in the panel of Jesus on the Way to Calvary, while
Saint Paul’s can be compared to Christ’s. This last one also shows the same
delicacy, melancholic look, and nose of Saint Michael. Even the knot on
the rope hanging from Jesus’ neck is similar to the one we can see on the
Man of Sorrows in one of the compartments of the predella of the retable
of Maese Rodrigo. In that predella we can see a representation of Saint
Catherine with a face of sweet features, full lips, and thin eyebrows, which
reminds us of Saint John in our panel, and Saint Claire of the retable of the
Conception in Villasana de Mena (circa 1517-1521). The Saint Nicholas
of the predella in this retable, with its profile position, is comparable to the
Jew holding Jesus by his neck in our panel. In that ensemble we can see a
Mass of Saint Gregory, where the saint’s face, although inverted, presents
the same features as the Simon of Cyrene in the panel we are studying.
Saint John’s face reminds us of the same saint in the Lord’s Supper of the
triptych of the Basilica of Pilar in Zaragoza, which is usually attributed to
the Cordova period of the artist, before his arrival in Seville. One of the
side wings also includes an Agony in the Garden, of a similar chiaroscuro
to the one we can see on the background of the panel with The Betrayal of
Christ (see. fig. 3), which shows a light treatment related to what used to
be done by then in the area of Antwerp. The background vegetation and
characters in that scene remind us of the ones in the panel we are studying.
Other noteworthy links are those with one of Alejo’s autograph panels,
the Madonna of the Rose, kept at the church of Santa Ana in Seville (circa
1525), where the faces of Mary and the angels show melancholic looks
and features that are similar to those of the feminine characters in the
panel with Jesus on the Way to Calvary. The coincidence is also seen in
46 47SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
negativity of a certain character, since we can see this in the Beheading of
Saint John the Baptist of the retable in Marchena, in the executioner who
had just beheaded the saint.62 His skill is also displayed when we analyze
his palette of colors, with spectacular details such as the iridescent shirt of
the Jew who is holding Jesus by his neck, which he could perform thanks
to a full mastery of the application of glazing.
Alejo Fernández, a German painterThe panel of Jesus on the Way to Calvary presents the personality of a very
complete artist who incorporates all kinds of sources to his art, and this is how
historiography has traditionally described him. We have mentioned how Alejo
Fernández used the engravings as a source of inspiration for his compositions,
not only Schongauer’s and Dürer’s usual ones, but in some cases he worked
with Italian prints inspired in Bramante.63 The treatment of the landscape
in the panel in question shows, once again, the Flemish influence and, in
particular, the impact of landscape developed by masters of the Antwerpian
entourage. What is interesting is that Alejo combined it with the incorporation
of Italian elements, such as the inclusion of classical architectures, a mixture
which, in his production, is constantly and multifacetedly displayed.
However, as we have already analyzed, the clearest linkage shown by the
panel of Jesus on the Way to Calvary is the Germanic world, particularly
due to the type of composition, the selected aspects of certain prints,
and the inclusion of iconographic details that were characteristic of that
entourage. The aforementioned composition parallelisms of our panel and
works by the Master of Delft, Derick Baegert, or Wolfgang Katzheimer
just reinforce an issue that has been stressed for quite a long time – the
possible German origin of Alejo Fernández. Due to this, some of his works
have been wrongly said to be German when they were first traded, such
as the panel we are studying, and also The Betrayal of Christ (see. fig. 3),
which was classified that way by Salomon Reinach in 1907.64
The main argument on which the historiography was based for considering
Alejo Fernández as a German artist is the fact that he was documented
as “Alemán” (German) in Seville a few times.65 However, as he was
declared to be the son of Leonisio (Dionisio) and Juana Garrido, from
Cordova, he was considered to be a local painter. This made Valverde
justify in a quite curious way the reason why the painter appeared in the
documents as German, deducing that the term was used to describe his
way of painting, that is, the Flemish or Northern style.66 For Valdivieso,
however, Alejo Fernández’s German origin is beyond doubt,67 an opinion
which has been gaining supporters in the last studies. So, for example, it
has been determined that the Germanic style of the works by Alejo and his
brother Jorge, a sculptor, is particularly observed in the main retable of the
Cathedral of Seville, where the style of the sculpture, the composition and
iconographic models, and even the carpentry take us to Northern Europe.68
Therefore, we should conclude that Alejo must have been a master who
came to Cordova when he had already been trained, and he settled there
and married the daughter of a famous painter, Pedro Fernández. This is
why later he took his in-laws’ last name, probably to enter the Cordovan
pictorial market more easily. Although his works show a clear acculturation
and adaptation to the Spanish context, his art never stopped reflecting
aspects related with his German origin, such as those mentioned above.
Anyhow, nowadays it is difficult to establish the area in Germany where
he was from. However, his style, color scheme, and compositions have
a lot to do with the paintings produced in regions such as Westphalia,
located by the Rhine river and very close to the Netherlands. One of the
main workshops in the region was the one in the city of Wesel managed by
the painter Derick Baegert (circa 1440-1502), together with his son Jan,
with the collaboration of Jan Joest. A magnificent Betrayal of Christ has
been attributed to the entourage of this workshop and has been recently
auctioned in Sotheby’s.69 Due to its characteristics, it is very close to the
panel with the same theme which was part of the same retable as the
painting we are studying here. Jesus is wearing an electric blue robe which
is very similar in both cases; the soldiers respond to similar prototypes;
and even some anecdote details are repeated, such as the lamp on the floor
or the vegetation treatment in the foreground. All of this reinforces the
aforementioned comments and makes us consider the possibility of Alejo
Fernández being a painter who was trained in the Rhine river area, which
would explain those important linkages with the paintings produced in
Northern Germany, and with the masters of the Antwerp area.
Mary’s halo, scratched with incisions, and also in black outlines. A similar
face is shown by Mary in the retable of the Lamentation in the Cathedral
of Seville (circa 1526-1527), which is exactly the same as the one of the
feminine figure to the left of the Virgin in our panel.
We should rule out the possibility of the Jesus on the Way to Calvary and
the panel with The Betrayal of Christ being both compartments of a retable
made by Alejo during his commercially successful years in Seville, that
is, during the 20s and 30s. We think so because of the differences with
the panels of the retable of Marchena, which, although it was started in
the twenties, was not placed definitely until 1533. In Marchena there is a
certain degeneration of the master’s original style, since we can see more
svelte figures and more elongated, quixotic faces, although we should note
that the human types and, in general, Alejo’s mark is still recognized. So,
Saint Christopher’s head in the guardapolvos is not too far from Christ’s
head in the panel we are studying, as the Jews of the Circumcision are close
to the male characters in our panel. The same could be said about the
executioner who has beheaded Saint John, showing a type of face, a profile,
which is very similar to the Jew who holds Jesus by his neck in the panel of
the Way to Calvary. Finally, it should be noted that the soldiers and horse
riders of the panels of Marchena were made with a greater economy of
effort, which is why they do not show the delicate work with gold leaf in
the armors that we can see in our panel and in The Betrayal of Christ.
The classic architectures of the left side of the compartment with Jesus on the
Way to Calvary respond to Alejo Fernández’s works usual models, as we can
see in the Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem of the triptych kept in Zaragoza.
Structures that stand out are those with openings with half-point arches, as
we can see in the Annunciation of the missing retable of the Conception of
Villasana de Mena. One of the most interesting parallels is that of the panel
including Saint John the Baptist Preaching of the retable of Marchena, where
we can see a building of a similar architecture equally placed in front of the sea.
The landscape matches that of the compartments of the Cathedral of
Seville, the Flagellation of the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Madonna of
the Rose of the church of Santa Ana in Seville, or the Baptism of Jesus of
the retable in Marchena, showing the distinctive bluish gradation of the
Flemish world. Some typical characteristics of Alejo’s works are dirt floors of
brownish tones, with scarce, wild vegetation, on which the shadows of the
characters that inhabit them are projected, as we can see in our panel and in
the one of the Museo Nacional del Prado (see. fig. 5). The landscape and the
type of vegetation match those of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple in
the Cathedral of Seville and the signed Saint John the Baptist which is part
of a private collection, which also shows the typical background with the
stream and the bridge. The trees of the central mound in Jesus on the Way
to Calvary also remind us of those of the compartment with Saint Jerome
of the Conception retable in Villasana de Mena, from around 1517-1521.
The soldiers’ armors, with a delicate and dramatic treatment of water
gilding complemented with touches of pictorial estofado, are found in
other works by Alejo, such as the Flagellation of Christ found in the Conde
de Montseny’s collection, where we can see a few soldiers with very similar
helmets. On the same panel, Jesus’ cruciferous halo, gilded and outlined
in black, is also similar. The aforementioned Flagellation was part of an
ensemble together with an Agony in the Garden, where we can see a similar
light treatment as in The Betrayal of Christ (see. fig. 3), since both scenes
are at night. We should add that Jesus’ and the apostle’s faces show the
same features as the Christ of our Way to Calvary, and the trims of the robe
have been executed similarly.
In the panel of Jesus on the Way to Calvary, Alejo Fernández displays his
great technical skills in different ways, as we have been detailing. His agile
brushstroke, his ability to face compositions where different actions or
episodes occur, or his skill shown when recreating details, all of this evinces
his technical mastery. Alejo displays a virtuosity shown by very few artists,
as we appreciate in his interest in reflecting shadows on the ground or the
cross, an element on which the shadows of the arm and the rope of one of
the Jews, as well as Simon of Cyrene’s cane are projected. Such attention
to detail and interest in anecdotes can be appreciated again in the torn and
mended shirt of the Jew who is dressed in yellow, and in the little band
aid applied on the naked leg of one of the tormentors. That is not the only
time when Alejo Fernández used that curious resource to reinforce the
48 49SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
1. This detail is connected to Isaiah’s prophecy, which stated that “like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth” (Isaiah, 53:7). See James H. Marrow, Passion Iconography in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance: A Study of the Transformation of Sacred Metaphor into Descriptive Narrative, Kortrijk, Van Ghemmert Publishing Company, 1979, pp. 163-164.
2. James Marrow, “Circumdederunt me canes multi: Christ’s Tormentors in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance”, Art Bulletin, 59 (1977), p. 174.
3. Marrow, Passion Iconography…, pp. 95-96.4. Elliot D. Wise, “Cycles of Memory and Circular Compassion in a Germanic Passion
Diptych”, Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, 10:1 (Winter 2018), DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2018.10.1.1 (accessed on: July 18, 2018).
5. Wise, “Cycles of Memory…”, paragraph 13.6. See L. B. Philip, “The Prado Epiphany by Jerome Bosch”, The Art Bulletin, 35 (1953), pp.
267-293.7. M. Pastoureau, “Rouge, jaune et gaucher. Note sur l’iconographie médiévale de Judas”,
in Couleurs, Images, Symboles. Etudes d’histoire et d’anthropologie, Paris, Le Léopard d’Or, 1989, pp. 69-83.
8. The influence of both between the Hispanic artists of the late Gothic and first Renaissance has been studied by different authors. In order not to be exhaustive, see Diego Angulo, “Durero y los pintores catalanes del siglo XVI”, Archivo Español de Arte, XVII (1965), pp. 327-328; María del Carmen Lacarra, “Influencia de Martin Schongauer en los primitivos aragoneses”, Boletín del Museo e Instituto ‘Camón Aznar’, XVII (1984), pp. 15-39; Pilar Silva Maroto, “Influencia de los grabados nórdicos en la pintura hispanoflamenca”, Archivo Español de Arte, 243 (1988), pp. 271-289; Carmen Morte, “Del gótico al Renacimiento en los retablos de pintura aragonesa durante el reinado de Fernando el Católico”, in La pintura gótica durante el siglo XV en tierras de Aragón y en otros territorios peninsulares, Zaragoza, Institución “Fernando el Católico”, 2007, pp. 335-372.
9. Joseph Meder, Durer-Katalog; ein Handbuch uber Albrecht Durers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustande, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen, Vienna, Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932, no. 146, 119, and 12, respectively.
10. Adam von Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur, vol. II, Vienna, Imprimerie de J. V. Degen, 1803, cat. VI.128.21.
11. Adam von Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur, vol. VII, Vienna, Imprimerie de J. V. Degen, 1808, cat. VII.253.34.
12. J. P. Filedt Kok (ed.), Livelier than Life, The Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet, or the Housebook Master 1470-1500, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Garry Schwartz, Princeton University Press, 1985.
13. About said painter, see M. J. Friedländer, “A painter in Delft at the beginning of the 16th century”, The Burlington Magazine, XX (1913), pp. 102-107; Christine Vogt, Meister von Frankfurt, Meister von Delft. Das Annentriptychon der Delfter Familie van Beest im Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, 2002. As well as the very complete cataloguing data of J. P. Filedt Kok, “Master of Delft, Triptych with the Virgin and Child and saints (centre panel), the Donor with St Martin (inner left wing), the Donor’s wife with St Cunera (inner right wing) and the Annunciation (outer wings), c. 1500 - c. 1510”, in J. P. Filedt Kok (ed.), Early Netherlandish Paintings, online collection catalog, Amsterdam, 2010. Online: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.9539 (accessed on: July 28, 2018).
14. Jürgen Becks and Martin Wilhelm Roelen (eds.), Derick Baegert und sein Werk, Wesel, Stadt Wesel, 2011.
15. Adam von Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur, vol. VII, Vienna, Imprimerie de J. V. Degen, 1808, cat. VII.251.28.
NOTES
16. Marrow, “Circumdederunt…”, p. 169, fig. 2.17. Hartmut Krohm, Die Rothenburger Passion im Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg ob der Tauber,
Rothenburg, Verlag des Vereins Alt-Rothenburg, 1985.18. We do not know if the presence of the horn may me an allusion to one of the psalms
that says: “Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns” (Psalms 22: 21).
19. There are many examples in the Hispanic world, as we can see in one of the reliefs of the main retable of Seville Cathedral, which should be related to Jorge Fernández, Alejo Fernández’s brother. We also find it in a mid 16th century sculptured relief done by some sculptor of the area of Valladolid, and that has been recently sold by Mullany Gallery. See a brief study and different images in http://www.mullanyfineart.com/view/christ-carrying-the-cross-spain-castile-valladolid-mid-16th-century (accessed on July 18, 2018). It can also be mentioned the panel painting of the Catalan Jaume Huguet kept in Museu Marès in Barcelona, where one of the soldiers also blows a trumpet (Rosa Alcoy, “Retaule de Sant Agustí de la Confraria dels Blanquers”, in Jaume Huguet. 500 anys, Barcelona, Departament de Cultura, Generalitat de Catalunya, 1993, p. 191).
20. The Betrayal of Christ was published in 2015, when it was a property of Sam Fogg gallery (London). See Nicholas Herman, “Alejo Fernández (c. 1475-1545). The Arrest of Christ”, in Susie Nash (ed.), Late Medieval Panel Paintings II. Materials, Methods, Meanings, London, Sam Fogg, 2015, pp. 100-199 (pp. 116-117, fig. 20 for Jesus on the Way to Calvary). A summary of Herman’s study has been published in Medieval and Renaissance Spain Paintings and sculpture from 1200 to 1550, London, Sam Fogg, 2017, pp. 91-97, with a reproduction of the Jesus on the Way to Calvary on p. 94, fig. 1.
21. It is a kind of sandal that we find in other works of the painter, like The Flagellation in the Museo Nacional del Prado, or the one that Saint Peter wears in the retable of Maese Rodrigo in Seville. On the first one, see Javier García-Máiquez and Carmen Garrido, “La Flagelación (1505-1510). Alejo Fernández (doc. entre 1496 y 1545-1546)”, in Gabriele Finaldi and Carmen Garrido (eds.), El trazo oculto. Dibujos subyacentes en pinturas de los siglos XV y XVI, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2006, pp. 230-239.
22. For the technical study of Jesus on the Way to Calvary see the corresponding section in this publication signed by Adelina Illán and Rafael Romero. As regards the technical study of The Betrayal of Christ see Nicholas Herman, “Alejo Fernández…”, pp. 100-109.
23. About the painter, see Diego Angulo, Alejo Fernández, Seville, Universidad de Sevilla, 1946; Chandler Rathfon Post, The Early Renaissance in Andalusia (A History of Spanish Painting, vol. X), Cambridge (Massachusetts), Harvard University Press, 1950, pp. 8-93; María Luz Martín Cubero, Alejo Fernández, Madrid, Fundación Universitaria Española, 1988; Juan Antonio Gómez Sánchez, Alejo Fernández y la pintura sevillana del primer tercio del siglo XVI, PhD, Sevilla, Universidad de Sevilla, 2016, (non vidimus).
24. Juan Agustín Ceán Bermúdez, Diccionario histórico de los más ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en España, Madrid, Imprenta de la Viuda de Ibarra, 1800, vol. V, pp. 304-305.
25. Jesús Miguel Palomero Páramo, “La viga de imaginería”, in El retablo mayor de la catedral de Sevilla: estudios e investigaciones realizados con motivo de su restauración, Seville, Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Sevilla, 1981, pp. 91-120; María Fernanda Morón de Castro, “Análisis histórico-estilístico”, in El retablo mayor…, pp. 121-172; Francisco J. Herrera García, “Los orígenes de una afortunada creación artística. El retablo gótico en Sevilla”, in El retablo sevillano. Desde sus orígenes a la actualidad, Seville, Fundación Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, Diputación de Sevilla, Fundación Cajasol, 2009, pp. 43-53.
26. Elena Escuredo Barrado, “Noticias de pintores en la Sevilla de 1526: documentación inédita de artistas ignorados”, Atrio, 21 (2015), p. 10.
27. Angulo, Alejo…, p. 7.28. Juan Luis Ravé Prieto, “Juan de Zamora y el retablo de la iglesia parroquial de Cala
(Huelva)”, Cuadernos de los Amigos de los Museos de Osuna, 7 (2005), pp. 14-19; Herrera,
“Los orígenes…”, pp. 64-65 y 67, plates 49-51. About Juan de Zamora, see Diego Angulo, “El pintor Juan de Zamora”, Archivo Español de Arte, XII, 36 (1936), pp. 201-207 and Post, The Early…, pp. 111-130, besides the recent contribution of Elena Escudero Barrado, “Juan de Zamora, ‘pintor de ymaginería’: nuevos datos sobre sus relaciones profesionales y familiares”, BSAA arte, LXXXII (2016), pp. 51-64.
29. For the sources of these references, see Martín, Alejo…, pp. 5-32.30. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 11-12, plates. 1-3; Post, The Early…, pp. 51-54, fig. 10.31. Angulo, Alejo…, p. 12, plates. 4-5; Post, The Early…, pp. 56-59, fig. 12.32. García-Máiquez and Garrido, “La Flagelación…”, pp. 230-239.33. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 13-14, plates. 6-12; Post, The Early…, pp. 62-66, fig. 14.34. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 14-16, plates. 13-19; Post, The Early…, pp. 28-33, fig. 3. See also
Herrera, “Los orígenes…”, pp. 42-43, plate 31.35. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 16-18, plates 20-25; Post, The Early…, pp. 21-27 and 66-69, figs. 1-2
and 15. See also Diego Angulo, “Alejo Fernández: los retablos de D. Sancho de Matienzo, de Villasana de Mena (Burgos)”, Archivo Español de Arte, XVI (1943), pp. 125-141.
36. Diego Angulo, “Alejo Fernández. La Adoración de los Reyes del Conde de la Viñaza. Algunas obras dudosas,” Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueología, VI (1930), p. 246; Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 19-20, plates 26-27; Post, The Early…, pp. 42-44, fig. 6.
37. Post, The Early…, p. 76, fig. 20.38. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 13-14, plates 28-29. About the Adoration of the Magi, see also Angulo,
“Alejo Fernández. La Adoración…”, pp. 241-246. As regards the Saint John the Baptist, a photograph of the Institut Amatller d’Art Hispànic in Barcelona (negative number Gudiol 58.135) certifies that later it became part of the Bertrán collection in Barcelona.
39. It was shown by Benito Navarrete, “Alejo Fernández. Arcángel San Gabriel”, in Pinturas de cuatro siglos, Madrid, Caylus, 1997, pp. 32-35.
40. Isbylia (Sevilla), April 14-15, 2015, Pintura antigua, lot 120.41. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 22-23, plates 36-37; Post, The Early…, pp. 44-47, fig. 7; Álvaro Recio
Mir, “La versatilidad del Renacimiento: variedad material, icónica, tipológica y funcional”, in El retablo sevillano. Desde sus orígenes a la actualidad, Seville, Fundación Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, Diputación de Sevilla, Fundación Cajasol, 2009, pp. 84-85, plate 10.
42. Benito Navarrete, “Alejo Fernández. Decapitación de San Juan Bautista”, in Pinturas de cuatro siglos…, pp. 28-31. Later it was auctioned in Sotheby’s, Old Master Paintings and British Paintings, London, April 29, 2010, lot 7.
43. Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 24-25, plates 42-45; Post, The Early…, pp. 76-82, fig. 21; Carla Rahn Phillips, “Visualizing Imperium: The Virgin of the Seafarers and Spain’s Self-Image in the Early Sixteenth Century”, Renaissance Quarterly, 58 (2005), pp. 815-856. The side compartments of the ensemble have been linked with his workshop or a follower.
44. The panels of the retable of Santiago de Écija have usually been linked with followers or members of Alejo's workshop. See Angulo, Alejo…, p. 23, plates 38-40; Post, The Early…, pp. 69-73, figs. 16-17; Enrique Valdivieso, Historia de la pintura sevillana, Seville, Ediciones Guadalquivir, 1992, p. 56; Herrera, “Los orígenes…”, pp. 58-60, plate 46.
45. Diego Angulo, “Varias obras de Alejo Fernández y de su escuela”, Anales de la Universidad Hispalense, year II, num. II (1939), pp. 48-57, figs. 5-12; Angulo, Alejo…, pp. 25-26, plates 46-47; Post, The Early…, pp. 33-42, figs. 4-5. About Marchena's retable, see also Herrera, “Los orígenes…”, pp. 53-55, plate 44. Valdivieso proposed that a great deal of the pictorial work ended up being outsourced to painters in Alejo's entourage (Valdiviseso, Historia…, p. 57).
46. Rosario Marchena Hidalgo, “Recuperación de una obra de Alejo Fernández”, Laboratorio de Arte, 17 (2004), pp. 117-135.
47. Post, The Early…, p. 82, fig. 22; César Pemán, Catálogo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Cádiz, Cádiz, 1952, pp. 17-18; Diego Angulo, Pintura del Renacimiento (Ars Hispaniae, vol. XII), Madrid, Plus Ultra, 1954, p. 140.
48. Angulo does not reproduce them in his article, but they must be the ones which appear in two photographs of the Institut Amatller d’Art Hispànic of Barcelona (negative numbers Gudiol 43343 and 43344).
49. Angulo, “Varias obras…”, pp. 41-63.50. Pedro Miguel Ibáñez Martínez, Pintura conquense del siglo XVI. I, Cuenca, Diputación de
Cuenca, 1993, fig. XVIII.51. Ave verum Corpus: Cristo eucaristía en el arte onubense: exposición conmemorativa del
cincuecentenario de la creación de la Diócesis de Huelva, Huelva, Obra Social y Cultural CajaSur, 2004, p. 210.
52. Rosario Marchena Hidalgo, “Una nueva obra de Alejo Fernández”, Laboratorio de Arte, 24 (2012), pp. 97-111.
53. Aida Padrón Mérida, “Dos tablas de Alejo Fernández y Juan de Borgoña hijo”, Archivo Español de Arte, 57, 227 (1984), pp. 324-325.
54. Sotheby’s, London, July 6, 2010, The Splendour of Venice, Important Furniture and Old Master Paintings from a Private Collection, lot 148, with attribution of Isabel Mateo.
55. Angulo, “Varias obras…”, pp. 43-44; Post, The Early…, pp. 49-50, fig. 9; Rosario Marchena Hidalgo, Las miniaturas de los libros de coro de la catedral de Sevilla: el siglo XVI, Seville, Universidad de Sevilla, Fundación Focus-Abengoa, 1998, pp. 117-119.
56. Antonio Muro Orejón, Documentos para la historia del arte en Andalucía. Tomo VIII. Pintores y doradores, Seville, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 1935, pp. 19-20.
57. José Gestoso y Pérez, Ensayo de un Diccionario de los artífices que florecieron en Sevilla desde el siglo XIII al XVIII inclusive, Seville, Andalucía moderna, 1900, vol. III, pp. 314-321.
58. Angulo, Alejo…, p. 8.59. The Jesus on the Way to Calvary comes from a French collection, while The Betrayal of
Christ was auctioned in Christie’s (Paris) on June 21, 2011 (Tableaux anciens et du XIXème siècle, lot 42), where the previous origin was recorded to be at the Paul Wallraf collection, from which it went to the owners who auctioned it. Before that, when it was published by Reinach in 1907, it was known that the work had belonged to the Paris firm Durand-Ruel (Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la renaissance (1280-1580), Paris, Ernest Leroux Éditeur, 1907, vol. II, p. 397).
60. Angulo, Alejo…, plate 30.61. Herman, however, considers that The Betrayal of Christ —and therefore our panel— was
made during the first years of Alejo's work in Cordova (Herman, “Alejo…”, p. 115).62. Angulo, Alejo…, plate 46.63. García-Máiquez and Garrido, “La Flagelación…”, p. 233.64. Reinach, Répertoire…, vol. II, p. 397.65. M. Giménez Fernández, Documentos para la Historia del Arte en Andalucía, Seville,
Universidad de Sevilla, 1927, p. 14.66. José Valverde Madrid, “La pintura sevillana en la primera mitad del siglo XVI (1501-
1560)”, Archivo Hispalense, 76 (1956), pp. 132-133. About this issue, see different interpretations offered by Post, The Early…, pp. 11-12.
67. Valdivieso, Historia…, p. 47.68. Herrera, “Los orígenes…”, pp. 43-53.69. London, December 6, 2017, Old Masters Evening Sale, lot 1. Published in A. Stange,
Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, Nordwestdeutschland in der Zeit von 1450 bis 1515, vol. VI, Munich, 1954, p. 70, plate 116; U. Wolff-Thomsen, Jan Joest von Kalkar. Ein niederländischer Maler um 1500, Bielefeld, 1997, pp. 381-382, plate 146.
50 51SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
Alcoy, Rosa, “Retaule de Sant Agustí de la Confraria dels Blanquers”, in Jaume Huguet. 500 anys, Barcelona, Departament de Cultura, Generalitat de Catalunya, 1993, pp. 186-193.
Ave verum Corpus: Cristo eucaristía en el arte onubense: exposición conmemorativa del cincuecentenario de la creación de la Diócesis de Huelva, Huelva, Obra Social y Cultural CajaSur, 2004.
Ávila, Ana, Imágenes y símbolos en la arquitectura pintada española (1470-1560), Barcelona, Antrophos, 1993.
Angulo, Diego, “Alejo Fernández. La Adoración de los Reyes del Conde de la Viñaza. Algunas obras dudosas“, Archivo Español de Arte y Arqueología, VI (1930), pp. 241-250.
Angulo, Diego “El pintor Juan de Zamora”, Archivo Español de Arte, XII, 36 (1936), pp. 201-207.
Angulo, Diego, “Varias obras de Alejo Fernández y de su escuela”, Anales de la Universidad Hispalense, II, 2 (1939), pp. 41-63.
Angulo, Diego, “Alejo Fernández: los retablos de D. Sancho de Matienzo, de Villasana de Mena (Burgos)”, Archivo Español de Arte, XVI (1943), pp. 125-141.
Angulo, Diego, Alejo Fernández, Seville, Laboratorio de Arte de la Universidad, 1946.
Angulo, Diego, “Bramante et la Flagellation du Musée du Prado”, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, XLII (1953), pp. 5-8.
Angulo, Diego, Pintura del renacimiento (Ars Hispaniae, vol. XII), Madrid, Plus Ultra, 1954.
Angulo, Diego, “Durero y los pintores catalanes del siglo XVI”, Archivo Español de Arte, XVII (1965), pp. 327-328.
Bartsch, Adam von, Le Peintre graveur, vol. II, Vienna, Imprimerie de J. V. Degen, 1803.
Bartsch, Adam von, Le Peintre graveur, vol. VII, Vienna, Imprimerie de J. V. Degen, 1808.
Becks, Jürgen and Roelen, Martin Wilhelm (eds.), Derick Baegert und sein Werk, Wesel, Stadt Wesel, 2011.
Ceán Bermúdez, Juan Agustín, Diccionario histórico de los más ilustres profesores de las Bellas Artes en España, Madrid, Imprenta de la Viuda de Ibarra, 1800.
Escuredo Barrado, Elena, “Noticias de pintores en la Sevilla de 1526: documentación inédita de artistas ignorados”, Atrio, 21 (2015), pp. 8-21.
Escudero Barrado, Elena, “Juan de Zamora, ‘pintor de ymaginería’: nuevos datos sobre sus relaciones profesionales y familiares”, BSAA arte, LXXXII (2016), pp. 51-64.
Filedt Kok, J. P. (ed.), Livelier than Life, The Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet, or the Housebook Master 1470-1500, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, Garry Schwartz, Princeton University Press, 1985.
Filedt Kok, J. P., “Master of Delft, Triptych with the Virgin and Child and saints (centre panel), the Donor with St Martin (inner left wing), the Donor’s wife with St Cunera (inner right wing) and the Annunciation (outer wings), c. 1500 - c. 1510”, in Filedt Kok, J. P. (ed.), Early Netherlandish Paintings, online collection catalogue, Amsterdam, 2010. Online: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.9539 (accessed on: 28 July 2018).
Friedländer, M. J., “A painter in Delft at the beginning of the 16th century”, The Burlington Magazine, XX (1913), pp. 102-107.
García-Máiquez, Jaime and Garrido, Carmen, “La Flagelación (1505-1510)”, in El trazo oculto. Dibujos subyacentes en pinturas de los siglos XV y XVI, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2006, pp. 230-239.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gestoso y Pérez, José, Ensayo de un Diccionario de los artífices que florecieron en Sevilla desde el siglo XIII al XVIII inclusive, Seville, Andalucía moderna, 1900, 3 vols.
Giménez Fernández, M., Documentos para la Historia del Arte en Andalucía, Seville, Universidad de Sevilla, 1927.
Gómez Sánchez, Juan Antonio, Alejo Fernández y la pintura sevillana del primer tercio del siglo XVI, PhD, Seville, Universidad de Sevilla, 2016.
Herman, Nicholas, “Alejo Fernández (c. 1475-1545). The Arrest of Christ”, in Nash Susie (ed.), Late Medieval Panel Paintings II. Materials, Methods, Meanings, London, Sam Fogg, 2015, pp. 100-119.
Herrera García, Francisco J., “Los orígenes de una afortunada creación artística. El retablo gótico en Sevilla”, in El retablo sevillano. Desde sus orígenes a la actualidad, Seville, Fundación Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, Diputación de Sevilla, Fundación Cajasol, 2009, pp. 15-68.
Ibáñez Martínez, Pedro Miguel, Pintura conquense del siglo XVI. I, Cuenca, Diputación de Cuenca, 1993.
Krohm, Hartmut, Die Rothenburger Passion im Reichsstadtmuseum Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Rothenburg, Verlag des Vereins Alt-Rothenburg, 1985.
Lacarra, María del Carmen, “Influencia de Martin Schongauer en los primitivos aragoneses”, Boletín del Museo e Instituto ‘Camón Aznar’, XVII (1984), pp. 15-39.
Marchena Hidalgo, Rosario, Las miniaturas de los libros de coro de la catedral de Sevilla: el siglo XVI, Seville, Universidad de Sevilla, Fundación Focus-Abengoa, 1998.
Marchena Hidalgo, Rosario, “Recuperación de una obra de Alejo Fernández”, Laboratorio de Arte, 17 (2004), pp. 117-135.
Marchena Hidalgo, Rosario, “Una nueva obra de Alejo Fernández”, Laboratorio de Arte, 24 (2012), pp. 97-111.
Marrow, James H., “Circumdederunt me canes multi: Christ’s Tormentors in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance”, Art Bulletin, 59 (1977), pp. 167-181.
Marrow, James H., Passion Iconography in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance: A Study of the Transformation of Sacred Metaphor into Descriptive Narrative, Kortrijk, Van Ghemmert Publishing Company, 1979.
Martín Cubero, María Luz, Alejo Fernández, Madrid, Fundación Universitaria Española, 1988.
Meder, Joseph, Durer-Katalog; ein Handbuch uber Albrecht Durers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustande, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen, Vienna, Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932.
Medieval and Renaissance Spain Paintings and sculpture from 1200 to 1550, London, Sam Fogg, 2017.
Morón de Castro, María Fernanda “Análisis histórico-estilístico”, in El retablo mayor de la catedral de Sevilla: estudios e investigaciones realizados con motivo de su restauración, Seville, Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Sevilla, 1981, pp. 121-172.
Morte, Carmen, “Del gótico al renacimiento en los retablos de pintura aragonesa durante el reinado de Fernando el Católico”, in La pintura gótica durante el siglo XV en tierras de Aragón y en otros territorios peninsulares, Saragossa, Institución “Fernando el Católico”, 2007, pp. 335-372.
Muro Orejón, Antonio, Documentos para la historia del arte en Andalucía. Tomo VIII. Pintores y doradores, Seville, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, 1935.
Navarrete, Benito, “Alejo Fernández. Arcángel San Gabriel”, in Pinturas de cuatro siglos, Madrid, Caylus, 1997, pp. 32-35.
Navarrete, Benito, “Alejo Fernández. Decapitación de San Juan Bautista”, in Pinturas de cuatro siglos, Madrid, Caylus, 1997, pp. 28-31.
Padrón Mérida, Aida, “Dos tablas de Alejo Fernández y Juan de Borgoña hijo”, Archivo Español de Arte, 57, 227 (1984), pp. 324-325.
Palomero Páramo, Jesús Miguel, “La viga de imaginería”, in El retablo mayor de la catedral de Sevilla: estudios e investigaciones realizados con motivo de su restauración, Seville, Monte de Piedad y Caja de Ahorros de Sevilla, 1981, pp. 91-120.
Pemán, César, Catálogo del Museo de Bellas Artes de Cádiz, Cádiz, 1952.
Philip, L. B., “The Prado Epiphany by Jerome Bosch”, The Art Bulletin, 35 (1953), pp. 267-293.
Post, Chandler Rathfon, The Early Renaissance in Andalusia (A History of Spanish Painting, vol. X), Cambridge (Massachusetts), Harvard University Press, 1950.
Padrón Mérida, Aida, “Dos tablas de Alejo Fernández y Juan de Borgoña hijo”, Archivo Español de Arte, 57, 227 (1984), pp. 324-325.
Pastoureau, Michel, “Rouge, jaune et gaucher. Note sur l’iconographie médiévale de Judas”, in Couleurs, Images, Symboles. Etudes d’histoire et d’anthropologie, Paris, Le Léopard d’Or, 1989, pp. 69-83.
Phillips, Carla Rahn, “Visualizing Imperium: The Virgin of the Seafarers and Spain’s Self-Image in the Early Sixteenth Century”, Renaissance Quarterly, 58 (2005), pp. 815-856.
Ravé Prieto, Juan Luis, “Juan de Zamora y el retablo de la iglesia parroquial de Cala (Huelva)”, Cuadernos de los Amigos de los Museos de Osuna, 7 (2005), pp. 14-19.
Recio Mir, Álvaro, “La versatilidad del Renacimiento: variedad material, icónica, tipológica y funcional”, in El retablo sevillano. Desde sus orígenes a la actualidad, Seville, Fundación Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla, Diputación de Sevilla, Fundación Cajasol, 2009, pp. 71-126.
Reinach, Salomon, Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la renaissance (1280-1580), Paris, Ernest Leroux Éditeur, 1907, 2 vols.
Silva Maroto, Pilar, “Influencia de los grabados nórdicos en la pintura hispanoflamenca”, Archivo Español de Arte, 243 (1988), pp. 271-289.
Stange, A., Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, Nordwestdeutschland in der Zeit von 1450 bis 1515, vol. VI, Munich, 1954.
Wolff-Thomsen, U., Jan Joest von Kalkar. Ein niederländischer Maler um 1500, Bielefeld, 1997.
Valdivieso, Enrique, Historia de la pintura sevillana, Seville, Ediciones Guadalquivir, 1992.
Valverde Madrid, José, “La pintura sevillana en la primera mitad del siglo XVI (1501-1560)”, Archivo Hispalense, 76 (1956), pp. 117-150.
Vogt, Christine, Meister von Frankfurt, Meister von Delft. Das Annentriptychon der Delfter Familie van Beest im Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, 2002.
Wise, Elliot D., “Cycles of Memory and Circular Compassion in a Germanic Passion Diptych”, Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, 10:1 (Winter 2018), DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2018.10.1.1 (accessed on: 18 julio 2018).
53
Fact SheetAlejo Fernández is perhaps the most influential figure in the transition
between the late Gothic period and the Renaissance in Andalusia.
The knowledge of his artistic corpus, his biographical facts and the
evolution of his style will increase as long as we are able to further in
his technique and painting procedures. Recent investigations provide
key facts about his activity, such as the type of supports used, the
singular and unique richness of his underdrawing, or the range of
pigments and painting techniques employed.1
The work upon which we focus had to have formed part of an
important altarpiece of noteworthy dimensions and was probably
carried out between 1510 and 1520, as Alberto Velasco has pointed
out in the preceding text. The panel would have formed part of the
predella, alongside the Betrayal of Christ in the Sam Fogg Gallery in
London. Structurally, the support is made up of Baltic oak wood panels
(Quercus rubur). As we shall see, show a meticulous craftsmanship
and they are made following the tradition of the Sevillian painting on
panel of his time.2 Indeed, oak was employed regularly in 16th century
Sevillian painting and was always imported by sea from Northern
Europe.
The Calvary was slightly modified on the reverse in the 19th century:
the reverse was made thinner in order to fix a cradle.3 This one and the
other painting in the London’s gallery are meticulously manufactured
to the very last detail, so we suppose that the work formed part of
an important commission. Our panel is constructed with four vertical
pieces of similar widths that are attached with a complex assemblage
of Z-shaped joints. Curiously, this kind of panel manufacturing
is more usual in Northern Europe than in Spain (Fig. 1).4 Another
extraordinary peculiarity present in the two works preserved of this
altarpiece is the considerable thickness of the panels, varying between
2.5 and 3 cm. This is completely unusual for this format, even among
Flemish paintings on oak panel. Due to the thickness of the panels and
the hard and stable nature of the wood, they would not require any
system of reinforcement.
To understand the original appearance of the reverse of our panels, it
is necessary to examine the panel from the London gallery. Despite
two transversal reinforcement bars subsequently added, it still
preserves the vegetable fibers and gypsum, a typical technique for
the stabilization and insulation of Spanish panels of the 15th and 16th
centuries.
Icono I&RTechnical Review
Alejo Fernández (doc. 1496-1545)Jesus on the Way to CalvarySeville, around 1510-1520
54 55SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
The vegetable fibers in the work upon which we focus has been applied on
the front of the panel before the ground layer. This is not the case in the
London work, in it, the vegetable fibers have been substituted with a piece
of fabric – probably linen. These slight variations in panel preparation are
typical while building an altarpiece of this magnitude.
The next step in the elaboration of the panel – and after a previous gluing
– was the application of a ground layer that would leave an optimal
surface for the painting process. As is typical of the Peninsular school, this
is made up of gypsum bounded with animal glue. Once dry, it was leveled
and sanded.5 Next, underdrawing was carried out over the priming. The
drawing was mainly made up of carbon and defined all the elements of the
composition: its compositional details, chiaroscuro and volume.
Alejo Fernández’s underdrawing is especially characteristic and detailed; it
is neatly seen in the infrared image of the work (Fig. 2). It is interesting to
point out that the composition – above all in the background landscape
– was much more complex at the time of the preliminary drawing. For
example, in the foreground there were elements of vegetation, rocks and
stones that were not ultimately painted (Fig. 3). In the sky, on the left,
he planned to make the trees in the landscape much bigger; in regards to
the crosses in the top right corner, there was initially one driven into the
ground and another fallen down (Fig. 4). During the painting process, he
moved the cross driven into the ground more to the right and eliminated
the fallen cross, putting two stacked logs in its place (Fig. 5).
A unique quality of Alejo Fernández’s underdrawing is the way he defines
the volume and the lights and shadows of the compositional elements by
means of parallel lines, especially in the anatomy of the figures and draperies.
Combined with drawn lines that define the details of the composition, the
resultant is a meticulous and exquisite drawing (Fig. 6). Such thoroughness
and precision of drawing has to be related to Flemish and German
painting. This harkens to the possible Northern European origin of the
artist, as Velasco correctly indicates in his text. We do find this exhaustive
type of drawing in the work of other artists active in Seville during this
period, such as it is the case of, for example, the Maestro de la Mendicidad.
Fig. 1 / Detail of the
interesting joinery between
the different oak panels that
make up the panel.
Fig. 2 / Digital infrared image
(general).
56 57SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
However, in the latter the drawing lines are straighter and show other
stylistic characteristics.6 As the 16th century advanced, drawing in most
major workshops became more summary. Parallel lines were gradually
reduced, with workshops limiting themselves to a delineation of contours
and essential details. Even in some works by certain leading artists, it can
be difficult to detect drawings through infrared radiation, such as in the
case of Luis de Vargas.
The application of a fine layer of white priming, lightly pigmented, upon the
aforementioned underdrawing is also characteristic of the 16th century; it is
thin (always less than 40 µm) and allows the drawing to come through. This
priming provided a vibrant white or ivory-colored base and, in addition,
isolated the thin preparation from the layers of oil paint to follow.7
The painting process in this work denotes a clear mastery of technique, with
a solid knowledge and command of the painting procedures of the time. It
also employs the very best quality materials, as we will see further on. The
confidence of execution is observed in the complete absence of corrections
or pentimenti in this step of painting. As we already saw, the variations
in composition were already carried out in the underdrawing. During
brushwork, the artist keeps to the predetermined design with precision
and does not introduce any variation, as seen in the radiography (Fig. 7).
Alejo Fernández works in the Flemish painting tradition of adding light
covering grounds and overlapping darker and more transparent layers on
top, in order to achieve rich transparent chromatic effects. In the deep
red cloak of Simon of Cyrene, he applies a base of reddish-violet color,
made up of white lead, red lacquer and azurite. He covers this with a dark
glaze of organic red lacquer with azurite and traces of white lead.8 The
azurite serves to darken the red lacquer and to correct its color, giving it
a bluish-purple tone (Fig. 8).
In much the same way the figure who plays the horn to the right of Christ,
dressed in an orange tunic, is painted with a base of vermillion and red
earth with traces of black. Over this, in the dark areas, is a practically pure
organic red lacquer glaze.
In Christ’s tunic we observe that the artist has opted for a good-quality
azurite, which in the samples appears to be mixed with a large amount of
organic red lacquer and scarce amounts of ochre and white lead. Without
a doubt, this combination has to give light mauve or purple tones.
However, it appears as a greenish blue tone in the work, probably due to
some superficial chemical alteration of the pigment.
The quality of the pigments is excellent, as shown in the azurite used in
the execution of the background landscape as well as in the mountains and
foliage. Certainly this is due to it being a high-quality variety, with large
grains of unusual chromatic intensity.9
Again, we observe a technical indebtedness to the Netherlands and
Germany in the execution of golden details such as Christ’s halo, the
soldiers’ armor and other metallic elements: these have been carried out
by using mordant gilding (a la sisa). This technique consisted of applying
a gold leaf upon an oily or oil-resin material while still wet. It would then
adhere to the surface. This technique is of Northern European origin, yet
is employed in Hispanic-Flemish painting on occasion as an alternative to
the traditional gold in water in order to achieve different surface effects.10
Figs. 3, 4, 5 & 6 / Infrared
image (different details).
58 59SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700
In regards to this topic it is necessary to reference the extraordinarily
rich execution of the armor, which shows the aforementioned gold leaf
alongside a meticulous rendering of detail. For these, he employs a very
fine brush and black paint. As well – and as it is typical of Alejo Fernandez’s
work- the halos show an incised lines decoration in a radial shape. A red
cross embellishes the halo of Christ.
All technical aspects and procedures mentioned show us that Alejo
Fernández is an artist with extraordinary resources which he skillfully
manages. This, along with the quality of his painting, make him a reference
artist of the early Renaissance painting in Andalusia. The extraordinary
quality of this panel – if we imagine it in the context of its original setting
and as part of the iconographic scheme of an altarpiece of such great
dimensions and entity – allows us to conceive of it as part of a master
work in the artistic stage of its time.
1. For a recent text about Alejo’s technique in one work, in particular the Betrayal of Christ in the Sam Fogg Galley in London, see Nicholas Herman, “Alejo Fernández (c. 1475-1545). The Arrest of Christ”, in Susie Nash (ed.), Late Medieval Panel Paintings II. Materials, Methods, Meanings, London, Sam Fogg, 2015; pending publication is an investigation into the Gothic and Renaissance works of the Museo de Bellas Artes de Córdoba, focusing on the study of underdrawing. This project is the fruit of the collaboration between the Cordoba museum and the I&R of Madrid study-laboratory. It includes Alejo’s interesting sarga called Christ Tied to the Column with Two Donors.
2. The wood was analyzed under a microscope by taking a small sample from one of the sides. Oak was used regularly in Seville during the 15th and 16th centuries. It was used alongside other woods such as chestnut - which could come from Extremadura or Portugal – or thuja. See Véliz, Z., Wooden Panels and their Preparation for Painting from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century in Spain, in “The Structural Conservation of Panel Painting”, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles 1998 pp. 136-148; Prieto, M., Los antiguos soportes de madera fuentes de conocimiento para el restaurador (Doctoral thesis). Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid 1988.
3. Slight parallel transverse marks are shown in the radiograph. They are clearly curved and sometimes almost diagonal. They must correspond to the scrapes or scratches made on the back in order to improve the adhesion of the cradle.
4. Wadum, J., Historical Overview of Panel-Making Techniques in Northern Countries, in “The Structural Conservation of Panel Painting”, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles 1998 pp. 149-177.
5. The spectrometry analysis through fluorescent x-ray lighting (EDXRF) and the microscopic study of the samples indicate that the ground layer consists of only a single thin stratum (≤70-80 µm). It is made up of anhydrite, with traces of plaster and earth. Staining tests with 2’, 7’-Dichlorofluorescein and Fuchsine acid tested positive for the detection of proteins in this stratum.
6. Gómez Sánchez, J.A. and Gutiérrez Carrasquilla, E., La restauración del Tríptico del Maestro de la Mendicidad del Ayuntamiento de Sevilla. Patrimonium Hispalense, Sevilla 2014.
7. The layer of priming shows a majority of white lead and traces of black carbon and earths. Staining tests with Rhodamine B and Amide Black test slightly positive for the presence of lipids, which would indicate that the binding agent could be a drying oil.
8. Although analysis to determine the colorant used in the red lacquer has not been carried out, the EDXRF analyses show a clear calcium peak at 3.69 and 4.01 KeV as well as sulfur at 2.31 KeV, alongside important levels of potassium at 3.31 KeV. Traces of aluminum are also detected at 1.49 KeV. This all indicates the presence of a precipitated organic uncolored dye upon an inorganic substrate of alumina and gypsum.
9. The analyses of the materials in this work are based upon the study carried out by different techniques of optical microscopy of the cross-sections and by pigment dispersions, as well as by superficial examination using the non-destructive technique of spectrometry analysis through fluorescent x-ray lighting (EDXRF). Following are the identified pigments and dyes: white lead, vermillion, red earth, organic red lacquer, azurite, verdigris, lead-tin yellow, yellow earth, brown earth, black coal and black bone (in the area covered by the panel’s cresting).
10. The ochre-brown gilding (thickness of ≤10µm) was carried out upon an earthy orange-colored bole and is mainly made up of minium, earths, copper blue, and silica; staining tests (Rhodamine B and Amide Black) suggest an oily nature.
NOTES
Fig. 7 / General radiograph
of the work. The image
has been digitally altered
in order to reduce the
presence of the clamp.
Fig. 8 / Stratigraphy of a sample taken from the red layer of Simon of Cyrene, on
the left border. The first layer corresponds to the ground, upon which one observes
the particles of the underlying drawing (2) and the white primer (3).
60 61SPANISH OLD MASTER PAINTINGS 1500–1700