A painting by Velázquez on sale at the Tefaf fair in Maastricht

BarcelonaThe Tefaf fair in Maastricht (Netherlands) is considered the most important in the world for the great variety and quality of the works that can be found, from archaeological pieces to medieval painting and modern and contemporary art and objects of applied art, jewelry and watches. The next edition, which will be held from March 15 to 20, will be a great one: the antique dealer Stuart Lochhead Sculpture from London will exhibit The venerable mother Jerónima de la Fuente, by Velázquez, and a bronze Christ attributed to Michelangelo that may have inspired the crucifix that the nun in the portrait is holding in her hand. It will be the first time that both works can be seen in public. The news was announced on Wednesday The Guardian The auction was held exclusively by the antique dealer, who confirmed this in a statement to which the ARA has had access.

Both works are for sale: the price of Christ, which was discovered in a private collection in San Sebastian a few years ago, is 1.8 million euros, while the estimate for the Velázquez painting has not been made public. The painting comes from a convent in Toledo and came to a family in Madrid in the 1940s. According to several Spanish media, the Ministry of Culture has granted the owners, the Fernández Araoz family —the family from which the doctor Gregorio Marañón emerged— a temporary export permit so that they can show the painting at the fair. The painting is not declared a Good of Cultural Interest (BIC) and, therefore, would be exportable.

The connection between the two works is based on the fact that in 1597 a crucifix by Michelangelo arrived in Seville in which Christ appears crucified with four keys. This figure became the standard model of the Crucifixion in the Spanish Baroque and the colonies, and Velázquez must have been familiar with this model in the workshop of his teacher Francisco Pacheco. "By including the crucifix in this masterpiece, Velázquez situated the painting in the religious, cultural and artistic environment of 17th century Seville," says the information from the antique dealer.

A strong and scrutinizing look

Velázquez's image of Sor Jerónima de la Fuente Yáñez is indelible, due to the determination with which she looks towards the viewer. The venerable mother Jerónima de la Fuente which is on sale at Tefaf was rediscovered in 2023. It is one of the first full-length portraits by Velázquez, made during his Seville period, and one of its three versions: one is in the Prado Museum in Madrid and the other, which is half-length, is in the Apelles de Santiago collection in Santiago. As can be read on the Prado website, the half-length one would be earlier than the other harsh ones, because the workmanship is drier and harder, while the brushstrokes of both full-length portraits are "lighter". The only difference between the portrait on sale and the one in El Prado is the position of the crucifix.

Sister Jerónima de la Fuente Yáñez, who came from a prominent family in Toledo, was a Franciscan nun at the convent of Santa Isabel. In June 1620, when she was 66, she moved to Seville to embark for the Philippines to found the convent of Santa Clara de la Concepción in Manila, of which she was the first abbess and where she died in 1630. Velázquez portrayed her in Seville before embarking: one hand in one hand and the other holding a crucifix. The light is tenebrist "with Caravaggesque roots" and highlights all the details of her face and hands. "The energy of the nun is wonderfully expressed both in her face, with an intense and scrutinising gaze, and in the way she holds the crucifix, held tightly, almost like a weapon," can also be read on the museum's website. The portrait is the result of the nuns' desire to "preserve in some way the image of their absent mother," which justifies the existence of at least two other copies of the portrait, both of similar quality.

"These masterpieces, by the greatest master of the Italian Renaissance and the most important Baroque painter in Spain, create a dialogue that transcends time," reads the statement from the antique dealer, which also claims that the two works explain "a story of artistic influence, spiritual resonance between Toria Colonna and the Spanish nun Jerónima de la Fuente."

A very prestigious antique dealer

Stuart Lochhead Sculpture is known for having presented Tefaf with exceptional works that have been sold to major museums around the world. Among his achievements are a bust of François Girardon acquired by the Château de Versailles (2020), a Virgin Mary and Child from the French Renaissance sold to the Kimbell Art Museum (2022) and a rare terracotta relief by Massimiliano Soldani purchased by the Detroit Institute of Fine Arts (2023), and one also extraordinary Mars walking by Giambologna that the curators of the Wadsworth Atheneum art museum purchased at the fair last year.