Magnificent pair of Spanish still lifes, in the style of Juan de Espinosa (1628, Doc. 1659). Spanish School of the 17th-18th centuries. Pair of oil paintings on canvas, each canvas measuring 80 x 60 cm, with frames 90 x 70 cm. This painter is documented in Madrid during the first half of the 17th century, and his name appears in connection with other Madrid painters in documents dated 1628 and 1659. Other surviving information seems to increase the uncertainty surrounding his presence, as there were at least two painters with the same name working at Court; one of them had already died in 1614, and the second was a resident of the capital in 1651 and continued to be so in subsequent years. The paintings display great pictorial virtuosity, with elements that are almost like the master's signature, as well as seashells, birds, and ceramic pieces brought from America. His artistic approach demonstrates a thorough understanding of the chiaroscuro techniques of the first third of the century, aiming to achieve contrasts that accentuate the volume of the forms he employs in each of his works. He must have been an artist of some renown, as he is frequently mentioned in inventories of private properties from that period. Currently, works by this artist are held in private and public collections in Madrid, Paris, and London, and in them, Espinosa demonstrates his commitment to a tenebrism that does not forgo the luminous effects stylistically linked to Juan Fernández "el Labrador" (Luna, JJ: El bodegón español en el Prado. De Van der Hamen a Goya, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2008, p. 160).
