ROLAN DE MOYS / PABLO SCHEPERS

(Bruselas, Países Bajos, ca. 1520 - Zaragoza, 1592 / Activo en Zaragoza entre 1559 - 1575)

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Set of three oil paintings on panel. The painters Rolan de Moys and Pablo Scheppers (or Esquert) introduced Romanizing Mannerism to the painting of the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre in the last third of the 16th century. Both artists arrived in Spain in the retinue of Martin Gurrea y Aragon, Duke of Villahermosa, upon his return from the Netherlands, with the aim of working in his service. Their style, difficult to discern clearly, is known thanks to a documented and, fortunately, preserved work: the main altarpiece of the Cistercian monastery of La Oliva, which is currently located in the church of San Pedro in Tafalla (Navarre). The altarpiece was commissioned from both painters in December 1571 but was not completed until 1587, and the specific work each artist performed remains unknown. The three previously unpublished paintings presented here exhibit the same stylistic and formal characteristics as the altarpiece of La Oliva. A comparison of the Adoration of the Shepherds panel from the documented Moys and Scheppers altarpiece with the Nativity panel presented here reveals that they are the work of the same hand, as they almost exactly replicate the same models of Saint Joseph, the Christ Child, the pair of adoring angels, and the Virgin Mary; although in the latter figure, a notable change in the position of her arms is observed. The lines of the drawing and the color palette are nearly identical, with the same treatment evident in some iridescent fabrics of the garments and in the green, red, and gold tones of the angels' wings. Dimensions: 65 x 47 cm. / 50 x 35.5 cm. / 50 x 35.5 cm.