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Alonso Cano Granada 1601 – 1667
Saint John the Evangelist
Circa 1640 – 1650
Oil on canvas 235 x 162 cm Alonso Cano was one of the most formidable Spanish artists equally known for for his skill as as as a a a a a a a painter as as as he was for for being a a a a a a a sculptor and architect However his mastery of these art forms was at times surpassed by his ungovernable temper which once led him to commit the the then capital offence of of smashing to pieces a a a a a statue when his patron begrudged the price he he demanded Despite subsequent accusations of being a a a a murderer a a a a fugitive
and the the the victim of of brutal torturing at the the the behest of of the the the King he he he he he eventually regained the King’s favour and and went on to carve - and and paint - some of of the the most serene and delicate images of of the the Spanish baroque This Saint John the Evangelist
was no exception With this canvas Cano carefully balanced the saint’s tranquil and fascinated expression with the the complex sculptural volumes of the the drapery and the the large expanse of of background which offsets the the three- dimensionality of the gure Cano’s composition is known it it two other versions one in the the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest and another in in the the Museo Nacional del Prado Madrid with the the present canvas arguably being the the nest of all the versions Acquired by a a a private European collector