ESTEBAN MÁRQUEZ DE VELASCO (Puebla de Guzman, Huelva, 1652 - Seville, 1696), attributed.Santiago el

ESTEBAN MÁRQUEZ DE VELASCO (Puebla de Guzmán, Huelva, 1652 - Seville, 1696), attributed.
"Santiago el Menor".
Oil on canvas.
Period frame.
Measurements: 103 x 82 cm; 110 x 88 cm (frame).
The apostle James the Less is represented with his characteristic attributes, the Holy Scriptures and a cane, in a recollected attitude in front of the open book. The painting is stylistically in keeping with the Andalusian Baroque style, with a strong use of chiaroscuro. The features have been modelled with a naturalistic expression, an area in which Marquez de Velasco showed particular mastery.
Esteban Márquez de Velasco was a Spanish painter, known principally as a follower of Murillo, who trained in Seville with his uncle, the painter Fernando Márquez Joya, with whom he worked and learned until 1672. Although not much information is known about his life, a comparison of his surviving work reveals a number of characteristics and facts: a strong influence of Murillo, including the use of specific outlines and figures; his important workshop produced an abundant output, partly for export to America, hence the difference in quality between some of his works.
A number of signed and dated works are also known, but they are late: "Lactation of Saint Dominic" from the Parish Church of Santa María de Nieves de Fuentes de Andalucía in Seville, dated 1693, "Saint Augustine and Saint Joseph with Child" now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville, a series of the Life of Saint Francis of Assisi preserved in Guadalajara (Mexico), a series of the Life of the Virgin from the Convent of the Trinity in Seville, dispersed in various American museums after its sale at the beginning of the 19th century, etc.