Alonso Berruguete

(Paredes de Navas, Palencia, ca. 1480 – Toledo, 1561)

Prophet (recto); The Birth of the Virgin (verso)

Pen and brown ink on paper

27.9 x 23.1 cm.

Provenance: Jak Katalan Collection

The son of Pedro Berruguete, the sculptor and painter Alonso de Berruguete received the support of his father from the outset of his career. In 1508 he went to Italy to further his artistic training, a period lasting a decade during which he made contacts with the leading artistic figures of the day. Berruguete moved in the circle of Michelangelo and was associated with the studio of Francesco Granacci in Florence. Nicole Dacos drew attention to Berruguete’s connections with Raphael, for whom he worked on the decoration of the “Vatican loggie”. 1

In the words of the expert Leticia Ruiz: “Deriving from that lengthy period in Italy, when he must have acquired a significant training as a painter, is the markedly sculptural character of some of Berruguete’s works, which directly relate to those painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, aspects that would be evident in the painting The Allegory of Temperance in the Museo del Prado 2 and the Fonseca Altarpiece (Salamanca, commissioned in 1529).” 3

In the present two drawings the line is applied with enormous vigour, emphasising the outlines of the forms and the anatomical naturalism. Particular mention should be made of the powerful energy conveyed by the Prophet’s arm, with a muscular development that evokes the Michelangelesque terribilità, to continue the reference made by Ruiz. Through the use of subtle hatching on this figure Berruguete offers a detailed study of light and shadow. The lines are

1 Leticia Ruiz, "Alegoría de la Templanza" in Memoría de Actividades 2017, Museo del Prado 2018, pp. 20-229. 2 Museo Nacional del Prado, inv. no.: P008263. 3 Ibid.

emphatic, which produces a marked expressivity without any loss of definition, as a result of which the figure recalls the free-standing Patriarch carved by Berruguete for the principal altarpiece in the church of San Benito el Real, Valladolid (fig. 2). 4

In the drawing of The Birth of the Virgin the strokes are even more energetic to the point of producing distortion, giving this preparatory study a deliberately sketchy appearance that possibly derives from the process of compositional distribution which the artist employed for some of his paintings and even his sculptures. It is thus not surprising that there is a relief by Berruguete on the same subject in the principal altarpiece of the conventual church in Mejorada (fig. 1). 5

While the distribution of the figures in that work is not exactly the same as that in the present drawing there are certain similarities, such as the bed in the background and the foreground figures. As the catalogue entry on the relief explains: “[the scene] narrates the episode of the Birth of the Virgin, presenting a relatively complex composition in which five figures are grouped together in a small space.”

Saint Anne is shown lying on a bed with the newborn Virgin in her lap. Behind her is an elegant figure supporting the Virgin and wearing a billowing mantle. This figure’s delicate pose suggests that it is an angel participating in the scene. The various women attending Saint Anne during the birth are located in the lower, earthly zone of the relief and wear contemporary, everyday dress. Two are shown kneeling while another is bending over in complex foreshortening, adding enormous dynamism to the scene as a whole.” 6

Equally interesting is the interpretation offered by J. J. Martín González who considers Berruguete’s independent drawings to be demonstrations of the artist’s creative freedom: “The intention could have been that of exercising his hand or of offering some advice to his collaborators [...]. It is precisely this lack of intention which most indicates that they reflect the artist’s spontaneity.” 7

4 Museo Nacional de Escultura, inv. no.: CE0271/048. 5 Museo Nacional de Escultura, inv. no.: CE0255/006. 6 Museo Nacional de Escultura, inv. no.: CE0255/006. 7 J. J. Martín González : “Nuevos dibujos de Alonso Berruguete” in Varia de Arte, 1981, pp. 444-446.

Bibliography: unpublished. Reference bibliography: Bermejo, E.: “Deux Apotres”, in VAN PUYVELDE, M. L.. L´Art et la cité, Brussels: 1963. p. 165. García Lozano, E.: Apóstol. Exposición antológica de Alonso Berruguete en el V Centenario de su nacimiento (1491-1991). Palencia: 1991. p. 60. Sanz Pastor, C.: Guía de la Exposición Alonso Berruguete. Madrid: 1961. p. 69. Martín González, J. J.: “Nuevos dibujos de Alonso Berruguete” in Varia de Arte, 1981, pp. 444-446. Ruiz, L.: “Alegoría de la Templanza” in Memoría de Actividades 2017, Museo del Prado 2018, pp. 20-229.

Fig. 1: Alonso de Berruguete, The Birth of the Virgin, principal altarpiece in San

Benito el Real.

Fig. 2: Alonso de Berruguete, Patriarch, principal altarpiece in the conventual

church in Mejorada

Fig.: Alonso de Berruguete, Prophet (recto), Nicolás Cortés Gallery

Fig.: Alonso de Berruguete, The Birth of the Virgin (verso), Nicolás Cortés Gallery.

Fig.: Alonso de Berruguete, The Birth of the Virgin (verso), Nicolás Cortés Gallery.

Fig.: Alonso de Berruguete, The Birth of the Virgin (verso), Nicolás Cortés Gallery