Mateo Cerezo

With José de la Mano, 2009,
where purchased by the present owner

J R. Buendía & I. Gutiérrez Pastor, Vida y Obra del Pintor Mateo Cerezo (1637 - 1666), Burgos 1986, p. 202-207, nos. D-5r^o. (The Madonna and Child), D-5v^o.  (A Cow), D-6 (The Last Supper) numbered incorrectly in this publication and there is no entry or illustration for An Adoration

Probably once part of a album, this double sided sheet of drawings do not appear to relate to any of Mateo Cerezo's known paintings but they do, however, give us an interesting insight into the artist's working methods. Three of the drawings are compositional studies depicting a Last Supper, an Adoration and a Virgin and Child, the fourth drawing is a study of a cow, most probably a study for an animal in a larger scene.   All the drawings, executed in black chalk, show Cerezo arranging his figures in each scenario and using quick and rapid strokes to denote background settings, giving context to his characters.  It is very likely the artist assembled an album of works where he could select designs and elements for his painted oeuvre and re-use motifs as and when required for commissions.

The drawings were published and attributed to Cerezo by Rogelio Buendía and Ismael Gutiérrez in their 1986 monograph (see Literature).   Comparable studies by Mateo Cerezo are, The Virgin and Child adored by Saints, in the Academia de San Fernando, Madrid and Madonna in Glory with Saint Matthew in the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid.¹

1. J R. Buendía & I. Gutiérrez Pastor, op.cit., pp. 203 and 213