1637 -1666 · Burgos, Madrid and Spanish Baroque

Vibrant light-dark, Venetian colors and direct emotion define the dazzling art of Mateo Cerezo, who died at just twenty-nine years old.

Mateo Cerezo was born in Burgos in 1637 into the family of a painter of the same name and died in Madrid in 1666. Despite a very short career, he became one of the most sensitive artists of the Baroque generation that followed Velazquez. The Museo Nacional del Prado links him to the studio of Juan Carreño de Miranda, of whom he was one of the most promising disciples. In Madrid, he also studied Titian and Van Dyck; their influence appears in his luminous skin tones, his supple fabrics and an increasingly light material. Cerezo paints religious subjects, the Immaculate, penitent Madeleines, scenes of charity and still lifes much admired during his lifetime. Ecce Homo, a theme he takes up in several versions, concentrates the Passion in the face, the crown of thorns, the hands tied and lighting which brings the body out of the shadows. Saint Thomas de Villeneuve distributing alms broadens this intensity to a scene of charity where the movement of the poor converges towards the bishop. His confident drawing and his strongly constructed plans explain why certain works have long been attributed to Claudio Coello. His palette becomes clearer over the years, but his early death interrupts an evolution which promised to occupy a major place in Madrid painting of the second half of the 17th century. The "Mateo Cerezo" selection notably compares Ecce Homo and Saint Thomas de Villeneuve distributing alms. His reading favors drawing.

Mateo Cerezo makes the flesh vibrate in the shadows: a few clear touches are enough to transform pain, charity or contemplation into immediate presence.