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Attributed to Isabel de Santiago (Real Audiencia of Quito, circa 1660/1670 - 1714)
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Description
Attributed to Isabel de Santiago (Real Audiencia of Quito, circa 1660 / 1670 - 1714)
‘Allegory of the Good Shepherd"
Oil on canvas.
95 x 70 cm.
Beautiful painting from Cuzco, with all the chromatic richness and detail of this school, representing the image of the Good Shepherd, an image already used in the early days of Christianity, loaded with symbolism, representing aspects of the new doctrine through which the Christian message was being spread, that not everyone received well: unconditional love, forgiveness, giving one's life for others, meekness and humility.
Deeply catechetical in nature, this painting shows in image and word ‘truths that had to be spread’ with tenderness and warmth, such as the image of a shepherd looking for the lost sheep and returning it to the flock after carrying it on his shoulders, a clear allusion to the biblical passage in John 10:11-16: ‘I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep’.
The figure of the Good Shepherd in general was inspired by ancient Christian iconography. Clear examples are the figure that appeared in the Catacomb of Priscilla (3rd century), a young man dressed in the style of the Greek shepherds, carrying a sheep on his shoulders, with two others at his feet looking on.
This image goes back to the Cyrophoros, already present in Mesopotamian art, a bearded man carrying a sheep on his chest; or the Hermes-Cyrophoros (ca. 325 AD) with another sheep on his back; or the Muscophoros, from Greek art, the young man who carried sacrificial animals on his shoulders.
The Lord as the Good Shepherd appears in this canvas standing full-length, in an engraved red tunic, with a shepherd's cloak, carrying a tame and enraptured lamb on his shoulders, showing his open chest with the symbolism of the ‘heart that gives its life unconditionally for its sheep’, which is offered lovingly and through suffering, with the attributes of the Passion: ‘I give myself and my life’.
At his feet is the symbol of the Pelican, wrapped in the crown of thorns, piercing its chest with its beak to feed its young with its blood, a clear symbol of Christ sacrificing Himself for humanity and of the Eucharist.
Loose phrases alluding to this iconography are distributed like phrases of a prayer, but their total interpretation is impossible due to losses through wear. However, they still give meaning: ‘O Holy Heaven, when we think ......’; ‘for my Jesus of my...’; ‘open your arms..., your sweet...’; ‘O Love without comparison, Sweet Good...’; ‘unite me to your heart...’; ‘Pelican that loving... to your dear ones...’.
From the crown of thorns with the pelicans inside, a rose bush loaded with red roses is born, symbolising the pain of Christ's Passion and martyrdom in general, red roses that are a symbol of love with a clear veiled message: ‘I love you’. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross has also become a symbol of earthly love.
Finally, on the rose bush, two turtle doves appear in a pair, as a universal symbol of love, fidelity, hope, marriage or union, peace, serenity and protection.
This painting shows exquisite taste for art reflected in each brushstroke, as Isabel de Santiago was the daughter of the famous painter Miguel de Santiago, from whom she would inherit her gifts and qualities for art, besides being one of the very few women who achieved recognition in the era of development of Spanish-American viceroyalty art. The artist was attracted to painting from a very young age, a passion she shared also with her second husband. She began to train and work in Santiago's workshop as a teenager. She would later become its the owner and worked there with her husband. She was widowed in the early 1700s and in 1706 she continued painting until the day of her death, which occurred in Quito in 1714. She was buried in the Convent of La Merced, near her home. This convent is where her best known painting is found, the postumous portrait she painted of Sister Juana de Jesús, a Poor Clare nun, to whom they attributed the saintly behavior.
This episode, recounted by biographer Francisco Javier Antonio de Santa María, reinforces Isabel's singular talent. After the nun's death, her husband Antonio Egas, unable to paint the portrait, delegated the task to Isabel, who managed to capture the essence of Sor Juana based solely on her memory. This fact evidences not only Isabel's technical skill, but also her capacity for empathy and spiritual understanding, qualities that are also reflected in our Tota Pulchra, where the figure of the Virgin exudes unequaled serenity and majesty.
In the painting that we describe we see her personal stylistic marks, floral beauty, the luminosity conveyed in each brushstroke and the presence of minuscule details, almost like those seen under a magnifying glass, which are always present in all her artworks. This painting is very reminiscent of two others of hers: “Our Lady of Roses”, which she painted for the convent of Santo Domingo, and “Our Lady of Flowers”, which is in the Colonial Art Museum of Quito. There is also a painting of the Archangel Saint Gabriel in which the flowers and gilded decoration underline the celestion majesty of the subject, just like the painting we have here. This painting is also a canvas worthy to be placed in any museum.
The use of gold by Isabel de Santiago, applied on large surfaces and in minute detail, gives her works an unusual brilliance even within the context of the Quito School, where gold was common but rarely used with such delicacy.
Her life, marked by humility and devotion, reflects the silent but constant struggle of the women artists of her time, who managed to transcend gender barriers and leave a lasting legacy. In Tota Pulchra, Isabel de Santiago not only depicts the Virgin as Queen of Heaven, but also reveals herself as a visionary artist, capable of capturing a deeply spiritual vision of art.
Reference bibliography:
- Martín Martín, Inmaculada. (2010). “El pintor quiteño Miguel de Santiago (1633-1706)”: Universidad de Sevilla.
- Martín Martín, Inmaculada. (2007). “Leyendas de un artista. A propósito del pintor quiteño Miguel de Santiago”. Publicado en: “De Arte” N.º 6.
“Isabel de Santiago: una pintora quiteña del siglo XVII” Inmaculada Martín Martín.Publicado en: “De Arte” N.º 7, 2008.
- Escudero-Albornoz, Ximena y Escudero de Teránz, Ximena. (1992). “América y España en la escultura colonial quiteña: historia de un sincretismo”. Ediciones del Banco de los Andes.
- Borchart de Morenoz, Christiana Renate. (1998). “La Audiencia de Quito: aspectos económicos y sociales (siglos XVI-XVIII)”. Editorial Abya Yala.
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Attributed to Isabel de Santiago (Real Audiencia of Quito, circa 1660 / 1670 - 1714)
‘Allegory of the Good Shepherd"
Oil on canvas.
95 x 70 cm.
Beautiful painting from Cuzco, with all the chromatic richness and detail of this school, representing the image of the Good Shepherd, an image already used in the early days of Christianity, loaded with symbolism, representing aspects of the new doctrine through which the Christian message was being spread, that not everyone received well: unconditional love, forgiveness, giving one's life for others, meekness and humility.
Deeply catechetical in nature, this painting shows in image and word ‘truths that had to be spread’ with tenderness and warmth, such as the image of a shepherd looking for the lost sheep and returning it to the flock after carrying it on his shoulders, a clear allusion to the biblical passage in John 10:11-16: ‘I am the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep’.
The figure of the Good Shepherd in general was inspired by ancient Christian iconography. Clear examples are the figure that appeared in the Catacomb of Priscilla (3rd century), a young man dressed in the style of the Greek shepherds, carrying a sheep on his shoulders, with two others at his feet looking on.
This image goes back to the Cyrophoros, already present in Mesopotamian art, a bearded man carrying a sheep on his chest; or the Hermes-Cyrophoros (ca. 325 AD) with another sheep on his back; or the Muscophoros, from Greek art, the young man who carried sacrificial animals on his shoulders.
The Lord as the Good Shepherd appears in this canvas standing full-length, in an engraved red tunic, with a shepherd's cloak, carrying a tame and enraptured lamb on his shoulders, showing his open chest with the symbolism of the ‘heart that gives its life unconditionally for its sheep’, which is offered lovingly and through suffering, with the attributes of the Passion: ‘I give myself and my life’.
At his feet is the symbol of the Pelican, wrapped in the crown of thorns, piercing its chest with its beak to feed its young with its blood, a clear symbol of Christ sacrificing Himself for humanity and of the Eucharist.
Loose phrases alluding to this iconography are distributed like phrases of a prayer, but their total interpretation is impossible due to losses through wear. However, they still give meaning: ‘O Holy Heaven, when we think ......’; ‘for my Jesus of my...’; ‘open your arms..., your sweet...’; ‘O Love without comparison, Sweet Good...’; ‘unite me to your heart...’; ‘Pelican that loving... to your dear ones...’.
From the crown of thorns with the pelicans inside, a rose bush loaded with red roses is born, symbolising the pain of Christ's Passion and martyrdom in general, red roses that are a symbol of love with a clear veiled message: ‘I love you’. The blood of Jesus shed on the cross has also become a symbol of earthly love.
Finally, on the rose bush, two turtle doves appear in a pair, as a universal symbol of love, fidelity, hope, marriage or union, peace, serenity and protection.
This painting shows exquisite taste for art reflected in each brushstroke, as Isabel de Santiago was the daughter of the famous painter Miguel de Santiago, from whom she would inherit her gifts and qualities for art, besides being one of the very few women who achieved recognition in the era of development of Spanish-American viceroyalty art. The artist was attracted to painting from a very young age, a passion she shared also with her second husband. She began to train and work in Santiago's workshop as a teenager. She would later become its the owner and worked there with her husband. She was widowed in the early 1700s and in 1706 she continued painting until the day of her death, which occurred in Quito in 1714. She was buried in the Convent of La Merced, near her home. This convent is where her best known painting is found, the postumous portrait she painted of Sister Juana de Jesús, a Poor Clare nun, to whom they attributed the saintly behavior.
This episode, recounted by biographer Francisco Javier Antonio de Santa María, reinforces Isabel's singular talent. After the nun's death, her husband Antonio Egas, unable to paint the portrait, delegated the task to Isabel, who managed to capture the essence of Sor Juana based solely on her memory. This fact evidences not only Isabel's technical skill, but also her capacity for empathy and spiritual understanding, qualities that are also reflected in our Tota Pulchra, where the figure of the Virgin exudes unequaled serenity and majesty.
In the painting that we describe we see her personal stylistic marks, floral beauty, the luminosity conveyed in each brushstroke and the presence of minuscule details, almost like those seen under a magnifying glass, which are always present in all her artworks. This painting is very reminiscent of two others of hers: “Our Lady of Roses”, which she painted for the convent of Santo Domingo, and “Our Lady of Flowers”, which is in the Colonial Art Museum of Quito. There is also a painting of the Archangel Saint Gabriel in which the flowers and gilded decoration underline the celestion majesty of the subject, just like the painting we have here. This painting is also a canvas worthy to be placed in any museum.
The use of gold by Isabel de Santiago, applied on large surfaces and in minute detail, gives her works an unusual brilliance even within the context of the Quito School, where gold was common but rarely used with such delicacy.
Her life, marked by humility and devotion, reflects the silent but constant struggle of the women artists of her time, who managed to transcend gender barriers and leave a lasting legacy. In Tota Pulchra, Isabel de Santiago not only depicts the Virgin as Queen of Heaven, but also reveals herself as a visionary artist, capable of capturing a deeply spiritual vision of art.
Reference bibliography:
- Martín Martín, Inmaculada. (2010). “El pintor quiteño Miguel de Santiago (1633-1706)”: Universidad de Sevilla.
- Martín Martín, Inmaculada. (2007). “Leyendas de un artista. A propósito del pintor quiteño Miguel de Santiago”. Publicado en: “De Arte” N.º 6.
“Isabel de Santiago: una pintora quiteña del siglo XVII” Inmaculada Martín Martín.Publicado en: “De Arte” N.º 7, 2008.
- Escudero-Albornoz, Ximena y Escudero de Teránz, Ximena. (1992). “América y España en la escultura colonial quiteña: historia de un sincretismo”. Ediciones del Banco de los Andes.
- Borchart de Morenoz, Christiana Renate. (1998). “La Audiencia de Quito: aspectos económicos y sociales (siglos XVI-XVIII)”. Editorial Abya Yala.
Millésime 25 · 20th anniversary of La Suite Subastas
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