PhD Program in Historical studies
Juan Bautista Maíno, a Spanish “Caravaggista”
The introduction of Caravaggio in Spain is due both to the arrival of Italian artists, and the return of Spanish artists who had worked in Rome, not to mention the widespread dissemination of copies made from the works of Caravaggio. In the early seventeenth century, the Roman painter Orazio Borgianni went to Madrid, who, upon returning to Italy maintained strong relationships with his clients by sending Spanish works as canvases for the monastery of Nuestra Señora de Porta Coeli (Our Lady of the Gates of Heaven) of Valladolid. Three paintings of the Venetian Carlo Saraceni were exhibited in the Cathedral of Toledo from 1613, which were later reworked by Vicente Carducho and Eugenio Cajés, to be included in the decoration of the chapel of the Virgin. Even Bartholomeo Cavarozzi between 1617 and 1618 went to Madrid after Giovanni Battista Crescenzi. The Italo-Spanish artist Juan Bautista Maíno, or Mayno (1578-1649), born in Pastrana by a father from Milan and a Spanish mother, was influenced by this climate of renewal. After studying for a few years in Italy and being fascinated by Caravaggism “in the clear” by Orazio Gentileschi and Carlo Saraceni, but also by the measured Classicism of Annibale Carracci and Guido Reni, whom he knew personally, he returned to Spain in 1611 and painted the altarpiece of the Four Easters in the convent of San Pedro Martyr in Toledo (now in the Museo del Prado and the Museu Víctor Balaguer in Vilanova i la Geltrú). The work is the display of his style in the balance between Naturalism and Classicism, with characters drawn from everyday life, showing a strong direct light, bright colors and acute sensitivity to detail, as can be seen in the fine Adoration of the Shepherds (Madrid, Museo del Prado) and landscapes executed in a Classical way, like the one at the back of Saint John the Baptist (Madrid, Museo del Prado), inspired by the examples of the Bolognese school on account of their atmospheric rendering and range of brightness. Maíno took vows in the Dominican Order and continued to carry out his work as a painter, until he became the artistic adviser and art teacher of Philip IV. In 1627 he was part of the jury that awarded Velázquez the first place in a contest for the picture The expulsion of the Moors. The two painters were always on good terms so that Maíno proposed Velázquez be appointed as a bailiff to the king. Among the most significant works of the Italo-Spaniard is the decoration of the Hall of the Kingdoms in the Buen Retiro palace (1634), executed in conjunction with Carducho, Cajés, Zurbarán and Velázquez. For the hall he created the modern and sumptuous Recapture of Bahia (Madrid, Museo del Prado, image), part of a series depicting battles. The reconquest of Salvador de Bahia in Brazil by Spanish and Portuguese troops against the Dutch in May of 1625 was a very topical issue for the Crown. The famous Surrender of Breda (Madrid, Museo del Prado) was part of the same cycle which was executed by his friend and colleague Velázquez.