GABRIEL DE LA CORTE (Madrid, 1648 - 1694).
"Pair of vases".
Oil on canvas (x2). Re-coloured.
One of the works has a label on the back of the Junta Delegada de Incautación Protección y Conservación del Tesoro Artístico Nacional.
It has a 19th century frame.
Measurements: 99 x 61 cm (x2); 124 x 86 cm (frame, x2).
These are two mature works by De la Corte, in which the vases are filled with dense and varied bouquets of brightly coloured flowers, executed with dense brushstrokes. With a marked verticality, these are imaginative compositions that prelude the arrival of Rococo, breaking with symmetry and tending towards horror vacui. In them, the flowers still appear full, voluminous, in all their splendour, as would be typical of the Baroque (in the Rococo, on the other hand, the flowers would be preferred half-open, not so full). However, the vases are placed in the strict centre of the painting, contained in elaborate vases, on pedestals and set against a dark background against which the brightly lit flowers are outlined. However, the arrangement of the flowers has lost the strict rigour and austerity of the naturalistic Baroque. From a luminous point of view, De la Corte concentrated the light-coloured flowers in a single point, thus turning the luminous flowers into chromatic highlights that stand out in the composition and attract the viewer's attention. Of particular note is his intuitive technique, based on wet-painting, through which the artist seeks to convey the impression of a wide range of tonalities, and succeeds in doing so.
Unlike other genre painters, Gabriel de la Corte's works are characterised by overloaded compositions, freedom of execution and his spontaneous, vigorous brushstrokes laden with paint. His style foreshadowed later developments in the 18th century. Specialising in vases, he was the son of the Madrid painter Lucas de la Corte, although his paternity has been the subject of debate among important scholars such as Antonio Palomino and Cean Bermúdez. De la Corte enjoyed little success during his lifetime, which led him to eke out a meagre living by painting for low prices and even completing the works of other artists by inserting flowers into their works. He was known for his use of an overloaded composition in which freedom of execution and a spontaneous, vigorous brushstroke full of matter are the main features. De la Corte's style is influenced by those of Arellano and anticipates the flower still lifes that would later be crowded with complicated compositions on elaborate cartouches. Some important works by De la Corte are preserved in the Museo del Prado, among other important institutions.