16 Works, October 15th. is Juan Bautista Maíno's day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #223

Fray Juan Bautista Maíno, Pastrana, 1581 – Madrid, 1649

Pentecost: the descent of the Holy Spirit

Oil on canvas

Private collection

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. More on this painting

Friar Juan Bautista Maíno, or Mayno (October 1581, Pastrana – 1 April 1649, Madrid) was a Spanish Baroque painter.

Fray Juan Bautista Maíno, Pastrana, 1581 – Madrid, 1649

Virgin and Child

Oil on copper

17.5 x 13 cm.

Private collection

Of particular interest in this work is the fragment of landscape that emerges behind the Virgin and occupies a significant part of the painting’s surface. Its significant quality indicates close contact

with Orazio Gentileschi: which is suggested above all by the trunk on the tree on the right, with white reflections, which could easily be the work of Orazio’s brush and belong to one of his coppers. This likeness leads us to propose a very early timeframe for the painting of this copper, closely related, therefore, to Maíno’s Italian sojourn, that is, between 1611 and 1612. Gianni Papi

Fray Juan Bautista Maíno, Pastrana, 1581 – Madrid, 1649

The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist

Oil on Canvas

110.5cm x 92.5cm

Private collection

His father was a merchant who sold Milanese fabrics and his mother was a Portuguese noblewoman. Both were at the service of Ana de Mendoza, Princess of Eboli, who was also the Duchess of Pastrana. Some historians believe that he trained with El Greco, but no documentary evidence has been found. It is known for certain that he spent the years 1600 to 1608 in Italy, where he became familiar with, and was influenced by, the works of Caravaggio and his students Orazio Gentileschi, Guido Reni and Annibale Carracci. When he returned to Pastrana, he revealed those influences in a "Trinity", painted for the side altar at the Monasterio de Concepcionistas Franciscanas.

Juan Bautista Mayno  (1581–1649)

The conversion of Saint Paul, c. 1614

Oil painting

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Saul of Tarsus, on his way to Damascus to annihilate the Christian community there, is struck blind by a brilliant light and hears the voice of Christ saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?...And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice..." (Acts 22:6-11). Elsewhere Paul claims to have seen Christ during the vision, and it is on this basis that he grounds his claim be recognised as an Apostle: "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" More on The conversion of Saint Paul

In March 1611, he moved to Toledo and, the following year, painted an "Altarpiece of the Four Days of Easter" for the Dominicans, which is now at the Museo del Prado. It is, perhaps, his best known work. Also notable are canvases depicting the "Adoration of the Magi" (See above) and the "Adoration of the Shepherds" (See above).

MAINO, Fray Juan Bautista, (b. 1581, Pastrana, d. 1649, Madrid)

Adoration of the Kings, c. 1612

Oil on canvas

315 x 174 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him. More on the Adoration of the Magi

The Adoration of the Magi is one of Maíno’s most important and highly praised works. It was designed to occupy the right-hand side of the altarpiece for the high altar of the church of San Pedro Mártir in Toledo and was located on the lower level of that ensemble. Thus, it was devised as a compositional pair and counterpoint to the Adoration of the Shepherds (See below). More on this painting

MAINO, Fray Juan Bautista, (b. 1581, Pastrana, d. 1649, Madrid)

Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1612

Oil on canvas

315 x 174 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Closely following the Gospel of Saint Luke (2:7-14), this composition illustrates the moment when a group of shepherds and angels contemplate and venerate the Infant Christ. The scene is set in a ruined building as dusk falls, to judge from the evening light visible in the background. The figures are arranged on three, clearly differentiated levels. The centre of the canvas shows the Virgin and Saint Joseph kneeling before the Christ Child, who lies on a stone block padded with grass and corn stalks. A little way away from this group but level with it, a middle-aged shepherd of robust appearance contemplates the Infant, his right hand holding a kid by one of its horns while his left hand is placed on his breast in a sign of respect, acknowledgement and affection. Leaning over the wall enclosing this central scene and close to Saint Joseph are the heads of the ox and the ass. The upper part of the canvas is filled with a group of angels who watch the scene with interest, while in the lower part two young shepherds recline on the ground, one playing the flute and the one, nearer the viewer, turning his back to the principal scene. More on this painting

MAINO, Fray Juan Bautista, (b. 1581, Pastrana, d. 1649, Madrid)

Adoration of the Shepherds, c. 1612

Oil on canvas

315 x 174 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Adoration of the Shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, arriving soon after the actual birth. It is often combined in art with the Adoration of the Magi, in which case it is typically just referred to by the latter title. The Annunciation to the Shepherds, when they are summoned by an angel to the scene, is a distinct subject. More on The Adoration of the Shepherds

The Adoration of the Shepherds is the work of a painter fully immersed in the art of Caravaggio. Maino appropriated not only Caravaggio's distinctive human types, seen especially in the angels and the shepherd in the right corner, but also his characteristic use of light and his love of intricate, studied compositions. Furthermore, Maino was able to fathom Caravaggio's dazzling surface effects and comprehend his profoundly human sense of religious feeling. In the most moving passage of the painting, St Joseph kneels beside the Christ Child and tenderly, almost reverently, kisses his wrist, subtly fusing feelings of paternal love and spiritual revelation. In this work, Maino reproduces the flamboyance of Caravaggio's early Roman style, exaggerating it by heightening the luster and brilliant colour of the exotic costumes, an effect that he possibly appropriated from the Dutch and Flemish "Caravaggisti", who were in Rome at the same time. More on this painting

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

The Pentecost, c. 1612 - 1614

Oil on canvas

Height: 285 cm.; Width: 163 cm.

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Christian Pentecost is based on the New Testament, where it refers to the occasion of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the Acts of the Apostles. According to Luke, the Descent of the Holy Spirit took place while the Apostles were celebrating the Jewish day of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai. Subsequently, the term Pentecost may refer to the Pentecost of the New Testament and Shavuot of the Old Testament. The Shavuot of the Old Testament is a significant event shared by Jewish and Christian traditions but is not commonly celebrated as a separate holiday by Christians. More on the Pentecost

The traditional hierarchical arrangement generally located Mary at the centre, symmetrically flanked by the Apostles. Maíno, however, chose to shift Mary towards the left in the middle-ground, close to and slightly behind the Magdalen, who is here presented as another member of the group of Apostles. As a result the two most striking and important figures are Saint Peter and Saint Luke in the foreground. For Spear, this arrangement was based on Brescian traditions prior to Caravaggio, while the precise rendering of the details, the clarity of the modelling and the effects of chiaroscuro all point to a new vision associated with Roman Caravaggesque painting. More on this painting

In June 1613, he entered the Dominican Order and took up residence at the Monastery of San Pedro Mártir. This reduced his artistic activity, although he created other versions of the "Adoration of the Shepherds", one of which is at the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg. Another may be seen at the Meadows Museum in Dallas.

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

Saint John the Baptist, c. Before 1613

Oil on Copper alloy

Height: 19.3 cm.; Width: 14.4 cm.

Museo del Prado, Madrid

John the Baptist, known as the prophet Yahya in the Qur'an, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions.

 

John used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement.[ Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.

 

According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and Jesus was the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. More on John the Baptist

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

The Penitent Magdalene in the Grotto of Sainte-Baume, c. 1612 - 1614

Oil on Panel

Height: 60.6 cm.; Width: 154.8 cm.

Museo del Prado, Madrid

A sinner, perhaps a courtesan, Mary Magdalen was a witness of Christ who renounced the pleasures of the flesh for a life of penance and contemplation. Penitent Magdalene or Penitent Magdalen refers to a post-biblical period in the life of Mary Magdalene, according to medieval legend. 

According to the tenets of the 17th–century Catholic church, Mary Magdalene was an example of the repentant sinner and consequently a symbol of the Sacrament of Penance. According to legend, Mary led a dissolute life until her sister Martha persuaded her to listen to Jesus Christ. She became one of Christ's most devoted followers and he absolved her of her former sins. More on The Penitent Magdalen

The Magdalen is shown reclining on the ground, leaning in part against a rock. The figure’s pose is inverted in comparison to the painting and print, in both of which the Magdalen is located on the left of the composition with the landscape occupying the right-hand side. By doing so he was conforming to the horizontal format commonly favoured for predella panels from medieval times onwards, and one that was widely used in Baroque painting. Thus, he covered her breast, but he also pulled back her long hair to reveal her arm and shoulder and he emphasised her calves and feet, which, were considered extremely erotic parts of the body at this date. With her hands clasped, the young woman directs her gaze towards the cross that leans on two small boulders to her right, painted in a dark tone to make them stand out within the composition. As in Carracci’s version, the Magdalen makes the cross the object of her meditations, although her face lacks any sign of suffering or sorrow. More on this painting

Juan Bautista Mayno  (1581–1649)

Magdalena penitente, c. 1615

Oil on canvas

Private collection

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

Saint Catherine of Siena, c. 1612 - 1614

Oil on Panel

Height: 118 cm.; Width: 92 cm.

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Saint Catherine of Siena, T.O.S.D. (March 25, 1347 in Siena – April 29, 1380 in Rome), was a tertiary of the Dominican Order and a Scholastic philosopher and theologian. She also worked to bring the papacy of Gregory XI back to Rome from its displacement in France and to establish peace among the Italian city-states. Since 18 June 1939, she is one of the two patron saints of Italy, together with St. Francis of Assisi. On 3 October 1970, she was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI, and on 1 October 1999, Pope John Paul II named her as one of the six patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia, Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bridget of Sweden and Edith Stein. More on Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine is depicted in profile, deeply engrossed in prayer and looking up to the part of the altarpiece that housed the image of the crucified Christ. Her slightly parted lips suggest that she is praying. Dressed in the Dominican habit, her hands bear the wounds inflicted on Christ on the cross and her head sports a crown of thorns, a direct allusion to the Dominican tradition that saw Saint Catherine as an image of the Passion of Christ. As a female type she conforms to Maíno’s standard model, with a small, well-defined mouth and pronounced chin. More on this painting

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

Judith with the Head of Holofernes, c. 1620s

Oil on canvas

127.5 x 101 cm (50 1/4 x 39 3/4 in.)

Private collection

Salome was the daughter of Herod II and Herodias. She is infamous for demanding and receiving the head of John the Baptist, according to the New Testament. According to Flavius Josephus's Jewish Antiquities, Salome was first married to Philip the Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trakonitis. After Philip's death in 34 AD she married Aristobulus of Chalcis and became queen of Chalcis and Armenia Minor. They had three children. Three coins with portraits of Aristobulus and Salome have been found. Her name in Hebrew meaning "peace". More on Salome

The painting was first published in 1952 by Roberto Longhi with an attribution to Louis Finson; in 1979, Benedict Nicolson placed it more tentatively in the “circle of Finson,” together with the Madonna of the Rosary then assigned to Cavarozzi (Christie’s, London, 29 March 1974). In 1989, when the painting was at the New York gallery of Piero Corsini, it was presented with a conjectural attribution to Cecco di Caravaggio. Subsequently it passed to the dealer Scardeoni in Lugano, from there to a private Swiss collection, and finally into the Koelliker collection. More recently, Gianni Papi has variously attributed the work to Cecco di Caravaggio, and to the Spanish painter Juan Bautista Maino, though Leticia Ruiz Gómez, curator of the 2009 exhibition devoted to the Spanish artist at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, has jettisoned this suggestion in favor of an attribution to Cecco or an artist in his close orbit. Further scholars have opined that the work, which combines Caravaggist tenebrism with a sumptuously Mannerist affect bears some similarities with the work of Abraham Bloemaert. Thus the attribution of this work remains an open, and intriguing, question. More on this painting

King Philip III called him to his Court in 1620, to teach drawing to his son, the future King Philip IV. At that time, Maíno became a sponsor of the young Diego Velázquez; choosing him, in a contest, to paint an "Expulsion of the Moors", which helped establish him at court. That painting did not survive the disastrous fire at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid in 1734.  

In 1630 the count-duke of Olivares decided to initiate a lavish program of artistic display by the construction of a new pleasure palace on the eastern border of Madrid which came to be known as the Buen Retiro. 

VELÁZQUEZ, DIEGO RODRÍGUEZ DE SILVA Y

Sevilla (Spain), 1599 - Madrid (Spain), 1660

The Surrender of Breda in 1625, c. 1634-35

Oil on canvas

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Surrender of Breda depicts a military victory, the 1624 Siege of Breda, during the Eighty Years War. This war began due to a revolt against Philip II of Spain by the Seventeen Provinces, which today includes the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Velázquez captured the end of the battle, as he also differentiated the two sides, one which is the Dutch, and the other side, the Spanish.[3] The painting presents the Spanish as a strong force, while including both sides of the battle and depicting facial expressions of fatigue that reflect the reality of war. More on this painting

The Hall of Realms was the principal ceremonial room in the Buen Retiro Palace. Paintings in the Hall of realms, executed in 1634-35, offer a straightforward program designed to magnify the power of the Spanish monarchy. Two works fell into the hands of Juan Bautista Maino and Antonio de Pereda.

MAINO, Fray Juan Bautista, (b. 1581, Pastrana, d. 1649, Madrid)

The Recapture of Bahia in 1625, c. 1634-35

Oil on canvas

309 x 381 cm

Museo del Prado, Madrid

The recapture from the Dutch of the city of San Salvador de Bahía de Todos los Santos was one of the most glorious feats of arms in the eventful year of 1625, which also saw the surrender of the city of Breda, the rescue of Genoa from the French siege and the defeat of the English at Cadiz.

Velázquez and Maino break fresh ground in their battle compositions, the Surrender of Breda (See above) and the Recapture of Bahia (See above), which share a common premise by interpreting the clash of arms as a clash of emotions. 

Maino includes the count-duke's portrait to glorify the minister as the author of the victory. The wounded soldier evokes a Christian martyrdom in order to arouse admiration and compassion for those who risk their lives in defence of the monarchy. The Recapture of Bahia is painted in Maino's crisp, burnished manner, which he effortlessly revived for the occasion. More on The Hall of Realms

Maíno, Fray Juan Bautista

Saint John the Evangelist in Patmos, c. 1612 - 1614

Oil on canvas

Height: 74 cm.; Width: 163 cm.

Museo Nacional del Prado

Saint John the Apostle, also called Saint John the Evangelist or Saint John the Divine (flourished 1st century ce), in Christian tradition, the author of three letters, the Fourth Gospel, and the Revelation to John in the New Testament. He played a leading role in the early church at Jerusalem.

John was the son of Zebedee, a Galilean fisherman, and Salome. John and his brother James were among the first disciples called by Jesus. In the Gospel According to Mark he is always mentioned after James and was no doubt the younger brother. His mother was among those women who ministered to the circle of disciples. James and John were called by Jesus “Boanerges,” or “sons of thunder,” perhaps because of some character trait such as the zeal exemplified in Mark 9:38 and Luke 9:54, when John and James wanted to call down fire from heaven to punish the Samaritan towns that did not accept Jesus. John and his brother, together with Simon Peter, formed an inner nucleus of intimate disciples. In the Fourth Gospel, ascribed by early tradition to John, the sons of Zebedee are mentioned only once, as being at the shores of the Sea of Tiberias when the risen Lord appeared; whether the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (who is never named) mentioned in this Gospel is to be identified with John (also not named) is not clear from the text. More on Saint John

Maíno devised a slightly unbalanced composition, locating both the figure of the saint as well as the principal elements of the landscape on the right-hand side and filling the left with the sea and the compact blue mass of the sky. His intention in doing so was to emphasise the traditional insular character of Patmos and the vastness of the sea that surrounded the saint as he composed the Revelation of Saint John the Divine in his retreat on this Aegean island. More on this painting

He died at the Colegio y convento de Santo Tomás in Madrid. Friar Juan Rizi may have been one of his students there.

Juan Bautista Maíno was always a little recognized artist and an unknown Dominican. In 2009 the curator of the Prado Museum Leticia Ruiz Gómez organized an exhibition on the figure of the Dominican that serves to recover Juan Bautista by discovering him as one of the best painters of the seventeenth century. More on Juan Bautista Maíno

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