Spanish School, 16th century

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. These paintings, a pair, are painted on heavy panels which used to have horizontal battens. Except for one, the battens have since been lost. The saint with the red hat is on a panel which seems to have been joined vertically in the center and the sky above his hat, incorporating a little bit of the halo, seems to be unoriginal, or at least, completely repainted. The right, left and bottom edge of this picture also do not seem to be period; the paint on these edges most likely address the area that was originally under the engaged frame. The saint with the black hat has a panel join running from right to left through his knees. Again, the top part of the panel and the edges do not seem to be period. These are pictures that require restoration, but the original paint layer does seem to be reasonably healthy. There has been some cracking and shrinkage to the paint layer here and there, but even the worst areas can be restored effectively.
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These two single seated figures may depict anonymous saints, or possibly a set of Old Testament Kings. They clearly make up two of an as yet unidentified series of works, possibly depicting other biblical figures. The original series may have served as a predella for a large Spanish altarpiece. In handling and overall composition these two pictures resemble the work of The Master of Astorga (active in Léon, 1st half of the 16th Century), particularly when compared with his figures from the retable at the church of San  Facundo, Cisneros (see C.R. Post, A History of Spanish Painting, Cambridge, 1941, IX, fig. 194). Both the compartmentalized spatial arrangement and dress of the prophet second from right recall the figures shown here.