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a painting of a man with a staff and sheep in a field
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6 - Francisco COLLANTES (Madrid, c.
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Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
Sale commission
Description
Francisco COLLANTES (Madrid, c. 1599–1656). The Good Shepherd. Original canvas. 144 × 108 cm. Bears a number on the reverse of the canvas, probably an inventory number, written in black ink: ‘1116’. (Previous restorations, damage in the lower right-hand corner) Spanish frame from the 1820s. Provenance: - Sale of the collection of Mr André Didier, Relanges, Mes Toutain and Béra, 1971. Formerly attributed to Fray Juan Rizzi. A pupil of Vicente Carducho, according to the historian Antonio Palomino, Francisco Collantes was a contemporary of Velázquez and worked in Madrid between 1630 and 1650 during the reign of Philip IV. He is recognised as the greatest landscape painter of the Golden Age, a genre rarely practised in Spain. He received commissions for the Buen Retiro Palace, and one of his paintings belonged to Charles I of England, then to Louis XIV (Louvre Museum). Drawing inspiration from the Flemish and Italian works of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that he saw at court, his vast, shadowy landscapes are brought to life by biblical figures. He also produced several paintings featuring large figures (Saint Onuphrius, Madrid, Prado; Saint Jerome, Copenhagen, National Museum) in which the influence of Ribera and Neapolitan naturalism is evident. Our previously unseen painting is a fine example of this. The landscape vista in the background on the right – a valley beneath a cloud-laden sky – is characteristic of his approach. His style is also recognisable in the naturalistic depiction of the sheep, which draws on the Bassanos, one of the painter’s models. Christ’s face, tilted downwards, is imbued with a melancholic gentleness. He holds a shepherd’s crook to guide his flock. The originality of the composition lies above all in this deep emerald-green drapery, rather than the red or blue typically found in traditional iconography. The even, frontal lighting reveals the full chromatic richness of the tunic, which stands out clearly against the landscape. Unlike the depictions of the Good Shepherd as a child that predominate in 17th-century Spanish art (Murillo), the iconography of this work follows an older tradition in keeping with the Old Testament source in Ezekiel (34:11–16), which depicts Christ as an adult shepherd. This approach, which is rarer and closer to the biblical text, finds a natural echo in the painter’s religious culture. He had already illustrated another theme related to the Book of Ezekiel, depicting the prophet’s vision, in his masterpiece at the Prado Museum.
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About the sale Exclusive sale: antique and modern paintings, furniture and objets d’art, African and Oceanic Primitive Art
Auction location
Auction time 11/06/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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