Francisco de Herrera, d. J. ("El Mozo")
Halbfigur des Petrus, den linken Arm auf ein Buch stützend, um 1642
Like the previous drawing (inv. no. 38668, cat. no. 88), this work belongs to a series of half-figure apostles and saints, twelve of which were lost from the collection of the Instituto Jovellanos in Gijón in 1936, with another two currently preserved in the Musée de Beaux Arts in Rouen.[1] This sheet, inscribed “Pedro” in the upper right, is identical to those drawings in design and technique; however, a few areas were finished with a brush. Almost completely covered with layers of hatching that slant in different directions, it compares favorably with a Standing Apostle (ca. 1642) in the Apelles Collection that is convincingly attributed to Francisco de Herrera the Younger by Zahira Véliz.[2] Both drawings also have hatchings that are identical in their density and distance apart with small roundings at the right edge. Also, the sheets are similar in the manipulation of light and the form of the hands. A date for this work to the years around 1642 therefore seems appropriate.
Here, Saint Peter is shown in a meditative posture, half-length and with his left arm resting on a book.
Jens Hoffmann-Samland
1 See Angulo Iniguez and Pérez Sánchez 1985, 27, nos. 67-68, illus. pl. XVIII.
2 Standing Apostle, pen and brown ink, 9 3/4 X 6 3/8 in. (247 x 163 mm). See Véliz 2002, cat. no. 34, 152-55, illus. 153.