Abraham VAN DIEPENBEECK (1596-1675) - Lot 71

Abraham VAN DIEPENBEECK (1596-1675) Portrait of Eugenio Hurtado holding a skull Oil on canvas. H_95 x W_68 cm Restoration. Bears the inscription: "EVGENIVS HVRTADVS C.R. MINORVM TOLETANVS / PVBLICE IN AERE AB ANGELO MIRACVLOSE DETENTVS / MORTIS MEMOR, MIRIS PENITENTIĘ MODIS CONSVMPTVS / MATRITI SANCTÈ QVIEVIT 30 Junij 1614 / Ætatis suæ 51" which can be translated as "Eugenius Hurtadus, religious of the Order of the Minims, a native of Toledo, miraculously held aloft before the public by an angel, retaining the memory of death, consumed by practices of penance, rested sanctimoniously in Madrid on June 30 1614, at the age of 51. Son of a glass painter, Abraham van Diepenbeeck was born in Bois-le-Duc in the late of the 16th century. Following in his father's footsteps, he first learned the technique stained glass painting techniques before becoming a pupil of Rubens in 1623. In the Antwerp master's studio, he produced tapestry cartoons, commissioned by the Infanta Isabel of Spain. Along with Van Dyck, he became one of the best representatives of Rubens' style. His passion for oil painting oil painting, he produced mainly religious and mythological mythological compositions. In 1638, he was admitted to the St. Luke's Guild and became its dean in 1641. The work of Abraham van Diepenbeeck has often been confused with that of Rubens. A major painter of the Flemish Golden Age, he deserves to be brought back into the limelight. This portrait of Eugenio Hurtado shows great skill in the portrayal of hands and face hands and face, as well as in the use of chiaroscuro. obscura. It was engraved in 1641 by Theodor Jansz. van Merlen with the inscription "R.P. Eugenius Hurtado / bis Provincialis", indicating that Eugenio Hurtado twice held the office of provincial within the Minim Order.