Francisco de Herrera, d. J. ("El Mozo"), zugeschrieben

Die Heilige Familie, um 1660

Verso: Alter Mann mit Bart / Nackter männlicher Oberkörper / Frauengesicht / Zwei nackte Kinder

This circular depiction of the Holy Family had been attributed to Juan Fernández de Navarrete, known as "El Mudo” ("the Mute," 1526-1579), because entry no. 47 from the “Escuela Española” in Echeverría's inventory lists it as: "by Navarrete the mute." In 1975, Jonathan Brown attributed this "charming” drawing to Francisco de Herrera the Younger and dated it to the 1660s, the period in which the Seville Academy was founded and shortly before Herrera left Seville for Madrid.
The swift and skillful pen strokes follow a preliminary drawing in black pencil. The wash places the child almost completely in shadow and brightly illuminates the Virgin at the center of the composition from a light source behind the child's head. Red chalk and added black pencil give the Christ Child a bit more volume, sharpen Mary's profile, and intensify the shadows in the darkest areas. Joseph remains half in shadow at the picture's right edge, and the barely recognizable dove of the Holy Ghost, toward which the child appears to be extending his right arm, hovers above the light. This distinct manipulation of light suggests that the artist intended to produce a painting that would hang above the viewer.

Jens Hoffmann-Samland

Details about this work

Feder und Pinsel in Braun, rote und dunkle Kreide, über schwarzem Stift (Recto); schwarzer Stift (Verso, um 90 Grad nach rechts gedreht) Hamburger Kunsthalle, Kupferstichkabinett Inv. Nr.: 38474 Collection: KK Zeichnungen, Spanien, 15.-19. Jh. © Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk Foto: Christoph Irrgang, CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0

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