Alonso Cano
(Granada, 1601 – Granada, 1667)
The Guardian Angel (The Archangel Raphael showing the way to Tobias)
Oil on canvas (114 x 73 cm. - Framed 127 x 86 cm.)
Full details of the work (click HERE)
The protagonist of our canvas is the Archangel Raphael, immortalized while protecting a child [1]: the meaning of this iconography, which became widespread particularly between the 16th and 17th centuries, has over time taken on a broader meaning, thus becoming the emblem of the guardian angel tasked with protecting every human being.
[1] In the 'Book of Tobit,' the angel Raphael was invoked by Tobit, a righteous and poor man, to accompany his son Tobias on a journey; Raphael showed Tobias the safest path and saved him more than once, without ever revealing himself as an angel until the end of the story.
The Angel is depicted here with the usual features of a young man with delicate features and a tunic cinched at the waist and distinguished by ample drapery. The young child, innocently frightened, instead turns his eyes to the sky, where through a break in the clouds appears the light of divine grace.
The stylistic and figurative characteristics of the painting evoke echoes of 17th-century Spanish painting, distinguished by its refined style, capable of uniting the Baroque language, splendid by definition, with elements of classicist origin.
In particular, by observing its iconographic features and drawing traits, the approach to the style of Alonso Cano (1601–1667), one of the most versatile and influential figures of the Spanish Golden Age, seems fitting: his work marks the transition from tenebrist realism to a more idealized and classicizing Baroque.
In particular, regarding the drawing, we can observe a clear derivation of our painting from an etching by Simone Cantarini (called il Pesarese), titled Guardian Angel, made around 1640.
which our author must have studied and reinterpreted (see: "Simone Cantarini il Pesarese" by Mario Mancigotti, 1975, Banca Popolare Pesarese, page 201, see imm.1).
Simone Cantarini was one of the greatest engravers of the 17th-century Italian period, and his prints enjoyed widespread European distribution in the 17th century, profoundly influencing devotional painting in Spain. His etchings circulated in Spanish artistic centers such as Madrid and Seville, where they were copied or "translated" into paintings to satisfy the demand for sacred images with a classicist taste.
The influence of the Bolognese school on the Spanish Golden Age was profound, fueled by the circulation of prints that served as veritable "manuals" of style for Iberian painters, and besides Alonso Cano, many other Spanish masters looked to Bolognese classicism.
It is interesting to note that, while Cantarini's print is distinguished by the lightness of its line and the influence of Guido Reni, our painting translates the model into a more sculptural and monumental form, with even primitive strokes, typical of Spanish Baroque.
Imm.1 Guardian Angel, Simone Cantarini
c. 1640
From "Simone Cantarini il Pesarese" by Mario Mancigotti, 1975, Banca Popolare Pesarese, page 201
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The painting is sold with a pleasant gilded frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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