ANTONIO PALOMINO Bujalance (Córdoba) (1653) / Madrid (1726)

Oil on canvas. On the reverse, affixed to the frame, is a label from the Board for the Seizure, Protection, and Salvation of Artistic Treasures. Provenance: Collection of Don Fernando Osorio de Moscoso, Duke of Medina de las Torres. In the second half of the 17th century, representations of Little Saint John the Baptist were very common, often paired with those of the Christ Child. Palomino produced several versions of this subject, such as the one shown here, in which he repeats the same composition as the painting of the same name in the Prado Museum, which came from the collection of Queen Isabel de Farnesio and is now on loan to the Museum of Zaragoza (P001027). The artist depicts a tender young boy, seated and embracing his quintessential iconographic attribute: the lamb. The brilliance of the color palette, with its characteristic indigos and pinks of the sky, stands out in his painting, as does his mastery of perspective, depicting the figure in a complex foreshortening. We thank Natividad Galindo for her assistance in cataloging this lot. Dimensions: 49 x 39.5 cm.