Spanish School 18th century

Essay:

This marvelously earthy painting seems to be a caricature of an artist's lot in life. 'Obrar Y Callar' (or 'shut up and work') hangs on a scroll above the bent-backed painter as he walks through the pit, dodging what rains down upon him.

Scatological subjects were relatively common in Dutch and Flemish old master paintings and engravings. However, the present picture appears to be Spanish in origin making it rather rare. Though the identity of the artist is unknown it would seem likely that they were inspired by northern artists' work (for instance 'The Blue Cloak' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder).

The painting of monkeys held by the unfortunate painter similarly points to northern precedents which usually poked fun at human behaviour. The metaphor behind the three monkeys is probably meant to mirror the artist's predicament with one chimp scrabbling in the dirt beneath two others.

Provenance:

Private Collection, Spain