Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra Art Value Price Guide

Dec. 12, 2024
Attributed to ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668) - Child Jesus with the "arma christi"
Est: €3,500 - €6,500
Oil on panel. Measurements: 115 x 99 cm.
Templum Fine Art Auctions
Oct. 28, 2024
Attributed to ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Saint Dominic of Guzman. Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents restorations on the pictorial surface. It has a XIX century frame.
Est: €8,000 - €9,000
Attributed to ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Saint Dominic of Guzman. Oil on canvas. Relined. It presents restorations on the pictorial surface. It has a XIX century frame. Measurements: 34 x 20 cm; 44,5 x 30 cm (frame). Saint Dominic of Guzman, born in Castile in 1170, was the founder of the Order of Preachers, better known as Dominicans. During his childhood he received a careful moral and cultural formation, finally awakening his vocation towards the ecclesiastical state. After studying humanities, theology and philosophy in Palencia, where he was also a professor, he was ordained a priest, and was finally named ambassador extraordinary by King Alfonso VIII of Castile. After obtaining in 1216 the authorization to found his order, he devoted his last years to its organization and to several missionary journeys to France and Italy. Legend, however, has added much to his biography. Numerous miracles were also attributed to the saint during his preaching, especially the resurrection of a young man who died from a fall from a horse and the rescue of some pilgrims who were going to drown while trying to cross the Garonne to Santiago de Compostela. It also has an extensive iconography related to all these episodes, including symbols such as the dog with the torch, the white lilac, the star, the cross, the standard and the holy rosary, the book and the church and the three mitres. One of the most outstanding episodes of his legend is the apparition to the saint of the Virgin of the Rosary. The tradition, which began in the 15th century, tells that the mother of God herself taught Saint Dominic to pray the rosary in 1208, telling him to propagate this devotion and use it as a powerful weapon against the enemies of the faith. Appearing in the chapel where the saint was praying, holding a rosary in his hand, he taught him to recite it, promising that many sinners would be converted and obtain abundant graces. St. Dominic left there full of zeal, with the rosary in his hand. Indeed he preached it, and with great success, achieving that many Albingenses returned to the Catholic faith. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. It presents restorations on the pictorial surface. It has a XIX century frame.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 01, 2024
Attributed to ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "St. Joseph with Child. Oil on canvas. Relined. It has a frame of the nineteenth century.
Est: €4,000 - €5,000
Attributed to ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "St. Joseph with Child. Oil on canvas. Relined. It has a frame of the nineteenth century. Measurements: 69 x 42,5 cm; 78 x 50,5 cm (frame). In this piece the author presents us a devotional scene, which stands out for the tenderness that the author tries to transmit to the spectator. For it he arranges Saint Joseph with the Child, both with a very close gesture, especially the one of Joseph, who dedicates a tender look to his son. The tonalities, ochre and bluish, oscillate between them, blending into each other, resulting in a peaceful image, where the color is harmoniously related without making hallmarks or demarcating elements of discordance. Until the Counter-Reformation, it was common for the figure of St. Joseph to remain in the background, since he was not given any theological importance. However, after Trent, his protagonist role as Jesus' protector during his childhood, as a guide during his youth, was recovered, and as such he is represented here. In contrast to the tenderness, defenselessness and candor of the infant figure, St. Joseph is presented as a monumental character, an impression that is reinforced by the pyramidal composition. Through this form of representation, the author visually enhances the decisive role as protector of the putative father of Jesus. Stylistically, the work is close to the aesthetics of Antonio Castillo, considered the father of the Cordovan school, Antonio del Castillo was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in the religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in the historical compositions he was usually more open, especially when adding architectures and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his capacity for capturing nature, and described him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he would go out for a few days to walk, with an errand to draw, and he copied some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo as a painter especially interested in the representation of nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday characters and animals that populate many of his works. Also, numerous drawings by his hand are preserved in which he portrays natures, characters and animals with great accuracy and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself continues to assert that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This determines a direct and truly singular work, of which today there are examples in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum of Malaga and the Cathedral of Cordoba, among other collections and religious centers.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 01, 2024
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Saint Anthony of Padua. Oil on canvas. Relined. It has a frame of the nineteenth century.
Est: €4,000 - €5,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Saint Anthony of Padua. Oil on canvas. Relined. It has a frame of the nineteenth century. Measurements: 69 x 42,5 cm; 77,5 x 50,5 cm (frame). Antonio del Castillo portrayed St. Anthony of Padua on several occasions, an example of this is the painting that belongs to the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Cordoba, painted around 1640-1645. In fact, in both paintings we can appreciate a similar composition with the saint standing in strict verticality with a foot forward that enhances a slight spatial sensation and the Child on a book. It is worth noting that in this work the presence of an opening brings greater vitality to the scene, thus creating a visually more pleasant image, as well as providing greater complexity with respect to the dimensions and the capture of space. Antonio Castillo is the painter considered the father of the Cordovan school, Antonio del Castillo was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in the religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in the historical compositions he was usually more open, especially when adding architectures and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his capacity for capturing nature, and described him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he would go out for a few days to walk, with an errand to draw, and he copied some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo as a painter especially interested in the representation of nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday characters and animals that populate many of his works. Also, numerous drawings by his hand are preserved in which he portrays natures, characters and animals with great accuracy and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself continues to assert that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This determines a direct and truly singular work, of which today there are examples in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum of Malaga and the Cathedral of Cordoba, among other collections and religious centers.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 01, 2024
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "San Buenaventura". Oil on canvas. Relined. Work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia
Est: €10,000 - €12,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "San Buenaventura". Oil on canvas. Relined. Work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia. Work reproduced in the catalog "Masters of Spanish Baroque, Granados Collection, Unpublished Work. Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia. 2020-2021. p. 97. Bibliography: Palencia Cerezo, José María and Pascual Chenel, Álvaro (dirs.). Masters of the Spanish Baroque. Granados Collection. Unpublished works. Murcia: Museo de Bellas Artes, 2020, pp. 94-96, cat. no. 23. Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface. Presents sealing wax seal on the back. Measurements: 83 x 65 cm; 95 x 77 cm (frame). The work that represents San Buenaventura, has a sober composition ascribed to the stylistic patterns of the time and the genre. The Saint is portrayed facing the viewer in the central area and with an elongated bust as usual. His gaze is directed towards the viewer, without paying attention to the book and the pen he holds in his hands. The depth of his gaze added to the truthfulness of the old face and the monumentality of the protagonist make up a portrait that transcends the mere religious representation in favor of a portrait that has a great psychological charge. The stylistic characteristics of the piece indicate that it may be a work produced in a period of maturity of the artist, following the model of the Saint Paul of the Museum of Fine Arts of Cordoba. Because of the chromatism and vibration of his brushstrokes, we believe that it should be more directly related to Castillo's canvas entitled San Francisco y Santo Domingo en el capítulo de las esteras, in the collection of the Marquesa de Santa Cruz in Madrid, which was made known by Nancarrow Taggard and Navarrete Prieto in 2004 (see Nancarrow and Navarrete, 2004, pp.316-317). It is one of his lesser known "narrative paintings", and constitutes a true compendium of the most frequent types and faces in his work, which he normally used in different positions to set the same scene. On the right of the three of them appear, from left to right, recognized by these authors as Brother Elias, the Bishop of Viterbo and Cardinal Ugolino, who are known to have attended the Franciscan chapter held in Assisi in 1221 that the painting celebrates. Cardinal Ugolino's face is very similar to the one shown in this St. Bonaventure, as his bushy beard denotes, although he is wearing a capelet, which makes it difficult to appreciate the features of his face in detail. Antonio Castillo is the painter considered the father of the Cordovan school, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Work exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia. Work reproduced in the catalog "Masters of the Spanish Baroque, Granados Collection, Unpublished Work. Museum of Fine Arts of Murcia. 2020-2021. p. 97. Bibliography: Palencia Cerezo, José María and Pascual Chenel, Álvaro (dirs.). Masters of the Spanish Baroque. Granados Collection. Unpublished works. Murcia: Museo de Bellas Artes, 2020, pp. 94-96, cat. no. 23. Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface. Presents wax seal on the back.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 01, 2024
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Adoration of the kings". Oil on canvas. Relined. It conserves frame of epoch.
Est: €6,000 - €8,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Adoration of the kings". Oil on canvas. Relined. It conserves frame of epoch. Measurements: 142 x 202 cm; 164 x 224 cm (frame). In the book of Benito Navarrete and Mindy Nancarrow on Antonio del Castillo is collected a "Adoration of the kings" belonging to the collection of Valderrama, Madrid. Both pieces, although they vary in size being the present work of larger dimensions, have the same composition. According to the book "The deteriorated Adoration of the Kings in the sanctuary of the Fuensanta is one of the only two known autograph versions of a composition that enjoyed tremendous popularity in Cordoba. Castillo, with the help of his workshop, reproduced it on a larger canvas, in a private collection in Seville, whose better state of preservation is useful to reconstruct the original appearance of the lesser canvas". There is a copy of this painting made by Acisclo Antonio Palomino, currently in the Museum of Fine Arts of Cordoba. Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known, but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville -of which there is no effective proof-, where Palomino makes him a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura in Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming without discussion the most important artist of the city. There he painted religious altarpieces as well as portraits and medium-sized series. In his work there is no evolution, and he always kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. If in the figures of saints he remains closer to strict naturalism, in the historical productions he tends to be more open, especially because of the ornamentation of architectures and landscapes with which he decorates them. Lázaro Díaz del Valle, Palomino praised his capacity for capturing nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he went out for a few days to walk, with the purpose of drawing, and copied some places from nature". This assertion by the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be especially interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Apr. 25, 2024
IMPORTANT SAINT BARBARA WITH PERIOD FRAME - ATTRIBUTED TO ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1616-1668), ANDALUSIAN BAROQUE SCHOOL OF THE 17TH CENTURY
Est: €14,000 - €16,000
Oil on canvas, measurements: 150 x 100 cm, framed measurements: 185 x 140 cm. Provenance: important private collection from Seville, Spain.
Templum Fine Art Auctions
Apr. 24, 2024
Antonio del Castillo Saavedra. Adoration
Est: -
Oil on canvas. Remains of signature and date. Provenance: - Private collection. Bibliography: - PÉREZ Sánchez, Alfonso: Baroque Painting in Spain (1600-1750). Chair. Madrid, 2010. Page 156. Antonio del Castillo, son of Agustín del Castillo, a painter from Llerena, was raised by Ignacio Aedo Calderón after being orphaned in 1626. Although it is presumed that he may have been a pupil of Zurbarán in Seville, there is no conclusive evidence in this regard. He settled permanently in Córdoba in 1635, becoming the city's main artist, where he produced religious works and portraits, maintaining a naturalistic style and showing interest in nature and landscapes. Although he remained true to his style outside of baroque elements, his ability to capture nature led him to be praised as an excellent landscape painter by Palomino. Castillo had a love for drawing and numerous drawings are attributed to him that reflect everyday scenes and nature. His work stands out for its uniqueness and direct approach.
Duran Arte y Subastas
Apr. 16, 2024
Attribué à Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (Cordoue 1616-1668) Annonciation aux bergers et Adoration des bergers (paint en ovales) (2)
Est: €3,000 - €5,000
Attribué à Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (Cordoue 1616-1668) Annonciation aux bergers et Adoration des bergers (paint en ovales) porte un numero d'inventaire '160' (lower left) une paire, huile sur toile bears inventory number '160' (lower left) a pair, oil on canvas 49.50 x 37.20cm (19 1/2 x 14 5/8in). (2)
Bonhams
Oct. 18, 2023
Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist." Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Presents inscription on the back.
Est: €800 - €1,200
Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist". Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Presents inscription on the back. Measurements: 66 x 50 cm; 75 x 59 cm (frame). Herodias, wife of Herod Philip, married in a scandalous way with his half-brother, Herod Antipas, which provoked a war, since Herod Antipas had repudiated his previous wife, daughter of the Nabataean monarch. The attitude of the new marriage was highly criticised by the people, as it was considered sinful, and one of those who denounced it the most was John the Baptist, for which he was arrested, although Herod did not dare to execute him for fear of the people's wrath. According to tradition, Salome, a woman of great beauty, danced for her stepfather, and he enthusiastically offered to grant her the prize she desired. The young woman then asked, following her mother's instructions, for the Baptist's head, which was given to her "on a silver platter". This work stands out for its narrative unity, as we can appreciate the precise moment when Salome receives the head of the saint, who has just been beheaded. The dramatic way in which the saint's body is presented to the viewer is particularly noteworthy, and is heightened by the way in which Salome steps on the dead body of Saint John. Due to the technical characteristics of the work, this painting can be classified as one of Antonio del Castillo's artistic circle. Considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as an "excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Today, examples can be found in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, etc.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 17, 2023
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 – 1668) "St Geronimo". Ink on paper. Present restorations.
Est: €4,000 - €6,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668) "Saint Jerome. Ink on paper. It presents restorations. Measurements: 23 x 16,5 cm. This drawing in which Saint Jerome is represented is very similar to the composition of the work by Antonio del Castillo which is in the collection of the Prado Museum and which represents the saint. In fact, in both cases the gesture of the hands is identical and the composition of the landscape is very similar. In fact, this comparison can be found on page 100 of the book on Castillo by Benito Navarrete Prieto and Mindy Nancarrow, which contains several of Castillo's sketches of the painting of Saint Jerome. The present sketch bears a close resemblance to the one in the Kunsthalle collection (Hamburg), in which the saint is depicted in a sober manner without ornamentation that detracts from his figure. Antonio Castillo is considered to be the father of the Cordovan school of painting. Antonio del Castillo was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. As regards his language, Antonio del Castillo's work did not show any obvious evolution, although towards the end of his life his language became softer and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in his religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in his historical compositions he tended to be more open, particularly when adding architectural and landscape compositions to his paintings. Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days on a walk on a sketching errand and copy some places from nature. This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo to be a painter particularly interested in depicting nature, something that is evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday figures and animals that populate many of his works. There are also numerous drawings by his hand in which he depicts nature, characters and animals with great skill and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself goes on to state that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This determines a direct and truly singular oeuvre, examples of which are now in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum of Malaga and Cordoba Cathedral, among other collections.
Setdart Auction House
Sep. 19, 2023
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Shepherd scene". Oil on canvas. Frame from the 17th century.
Est: €6,000 - €7,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Pastoral scene". Oil on canvas. Period frame. Size: 125 x 81 cm; 135 x 93 cm (frame). This is a pastoral scene close to other drawings by Del Castillo Saavedra, nowadays kept in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of San Fernando, such as "Study of a shepherd with his flock of sheep" or "Study of a hunter with peasants". The present canvas shows the figure of an elderly shepherd. The old man watches over his flock, which is mostly made up of sheep, although it is presided over by a bright white goat. Palomino praised Del Castillo Saavedra for his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days' walk on a sketching errand and copy some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo to be a painter particularly interested in depicting nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday figures and animals that populate many of his works and which can be seen in the present canvas. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordoban school. He was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where Palomino states that he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work and in his last years introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in his religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in his historical compositions he tended to be more open, particularly when adding architecture and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days on a walk on a sketching errand and copy some places from nature. This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo to be a painter particularly interested in depicting nature, something that is evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday figures and animals that populate many of his works. There are also numerous drawings by his hand in which he depicts nature, characters and animals with great skill and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself goes on to state that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This is a truly singular and direct oeuvre, examples of which are now to be found in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum in Malaga and Cordoba Cathedral, among other collections and religious centres.
Setdart Auction House
Jul. 12, 2023
Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist." Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Presents inscription on the back.
Est: €1,500 - €1,800
Workshop of ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Salome receiving the head of Saint John the Baptist". Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Presents inscription on the back. Measurements: 66 x 50 cm; 75 x 59 cm (frame). Herodias, wife of Herod Philip, married in a scandalous way with his half-brother, Herod Antipas, which provoked a war, since Herod Antipas had repudiated his previous wife, daughter of the Nabataean monarch. The attitude of the new marriage was highly criticised by the people, as it was considered sinful, and one of those who denounced it the most was John the Baptist, for which he was arrested, although Herod did not dare to execute him for fear of the people's wrath. According to tradition, Salome, a woman of great beauty, danced for her stepfather, and he enthusiastically offered to grant her the prize she desired. The young woman then asked, following her mother's instructions, for the Baptist's head, which was given to her "on a silver platter". This work stands out for its narrative unity, as we can appreciate the precise moment when Salome receives the head of the saint, who has just been beheaded. The dramatic way in which the saint's body is presented to the viewer is particularly noteworthy, and is heightened by the way in which Salome steps on the dead body of Saint John. Due to the technical characteristics of the work, this painting can be classified as one of Antonio del Castillo's artistic circle. Considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as an "excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Today, examples can be found in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, etc.
Setdart Auction House
Dec. 13, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA - Adoration of the Kings
Est: -
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA Córdoba 1616 - 1668 Adoration of the Kings. 1639? Oil on canvas Signed and dated (remains) Measurements 111 x 159 cm Origin: Private collection, Madrid. His painting remained in the line of naturalism, moving away from the new baroque formulas and enduring in the Zurbaranesque aesthetic. Antonio del Castillo worked with a more personal style in works of a narrative nature and monumental composition, as in this case. It is a picture of a religious matter that narrates The Epiphany of the Lord; set in an exterior that simulates the entrance to a temple. The Holy Family, located to the right of the painting, receives the presents of the three Wise Men. There is a version of this painting attributed to the painter found in the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Fuensanta (Córdoba), with a similar dimension and composition, which is also signed. It is, together with this work, the only two signed and dated versions. The coloring of the painting focuses on the folds of the protagonists; the Holy Family and the Three Wise Men, leaving the dark tones for the background and creating a certain contrast. The treatment of light in the painting seems to emanate from the left side, which affects the folds of the characters. Bibliography: - Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez, Alfonso, Baroque Painting in Spain (1600-1750), Cátedra, 2010, p. 156. - Benito Navarrete Prieto., Antonio del Castillo. Drawings (1616-1668), Catalog raisonné, Marcelino Botín Foundation, Santander, 2008, p. 256.
Subastas Segre
Oct. 26, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to Saint Anthony". Oil on canvas. Reengineered.
Est: €10,000 - €12,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Apparition of the Infant Jesus to Saint Anthony". Oil on canvas. Relined. Size: 125 x 103 cm; 150 x 130 cm (frame). In the interior of a room, on a horizontal foreground, appears the Saint of Padua with Franciscan habit seated on a friar's armchair in front of a table-study. On the table are a pen, an inkwell, several books, a note or missive on a double sheet, a branch of lilies - alluding to the Saint's purity - and a skull in a diagonal line towards the centre above a group of three books, two of which have titles on their spines. In the upper area, to the right of a curtain that delimits the room, the Child Jesus descends full-length with the sphere of the world under his left arm, on a throne prepared for him by several little angels in a swirling composition amidst the vaporous clouds. Below, next to the saint, two cherubs, one in frontal position and the other in profile, looking upwards, symbolise the arrival of the Child on Earth. Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we know nothing, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville - of which there is no actual proof - where Palomino describes him as a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master on Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming undoubtedly the city's most important artist. There he produced both religious altarpieces and portraits and medium-sized series. There is no discernible evolution in his work, and he always remained far removed from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. While in his figures of saints he was closer to strict naturalism, in his historical works he tended to be more open-minded, particularly in his use of architectural and landscape decoration. Already classed as a landscape painter by Lázaro Díaz del Valle, Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days on a stroll, on a sketching errand, and copied some places from nature". This statement by the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be particularly interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 13, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Shepherd scene". Oil on canvas. Frame from the 17th century.
Est: €7,000 - €9,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Pastoral scene". Oil on canvas. Period frame. Size: 125 x 81 cm; 135 x 93 cm (frame). This is a pastoral scene close to other drawings by Del Castillo Saavedra, nowadays kept in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of San Fernando, such as "Study of a shepherd with his flock of sheep" or "Study of a hunter with peasants". The present canvas shows the figure of an elderly shepherd. The old man watches over his flock, which is mostly made up of sheep, although it is presided over by a bright white goat. Palomino praised Del Castillo Saavedra for his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days' walk on a sketching errand and copy some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo to be a painter particularly interested in depicting nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday figures and animals that populate many of his works and which can be seen in the present canvas. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordoban school. He was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where Palomino states that he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work and in his last years introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in his religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in his historical compositions he tended to be more open, particularly when adding architecture and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days on a walk on a sketching errand and copy some places from nature. This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo to be a painter particularly interested in depicting nature, something that is evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday figures and animals that populate many of his works. There are also numerous drawings by his hand in which he depicts nature, characters and animals with great skill and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself goes on to state that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This is a truly singular and direct oeuvre, examples of which are now to be found in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum in Malaga and Cordoba Cathedral, among other collections and religious centres.
Setdart Auction House
Sep. 23, 2022
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA
Est: CHF1,000 - CHF1,500
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) John the Baptist. Pen and brown ink. 27.3 x 21.2 cm. --------------- ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) Johannes der Täufer. Feder in Braun. 27,3 x 21,2 cm. ---------------
Koller Auctions
Sep. 23, 2022
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA
Est: CHF1,500 - CHF2,000
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) The conversion of Paul the Apostle. Pen and grey-brown ink. Monogrammed on the lower margin to the left in pen and brown ink: A.C. Inscribed within the image: 32 x 23.3 cm. --------------- ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) Die Bekehrung des Apostels Paulus. Feder in Graubraun. Am unteren Rand links mit brauner Feder monogrammiert: A.C. Innerhalb der Darstellung bezeichnet: 32 x 23,3 cm. ---------------
Koller Auctions
Jul. 20, 2022
"THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS", ATTRIBUTED TO ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (CÓRDOBA, SPAIN, 1616 - 1668)
Est: €30,000 - €40,000
Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (Córdoba 1616 - 1668), in addition to standing out as a landscape painter and draftsman, a facet in which he can be counted among the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. Born in Córdoba, he was the son of the painter Agustín del Castillo, about whom little is known but whom Palomino calls an "excellent painter" and Ana de Guerra. Initially trained in his father's workshop, he was orphaned at the age of fifteen; being the eldest of four brothers, on November 24, 1631 he appeared before a magistrate in Córdoba asking for a guardian due to his minority. Placed with the imagery painter Ignacio Aedo Calderón, the contract according to the usual terms established that Aedo undertook to teach him the painter's trade so that he could dedicate his life to it. Castillo would serve him as much as possible in exchange for receiving the teacher's training and care as well as being fed, clothed, shoes, and providing him with a place to live while his mother took care of raising his younger siblings. According to Palomino, he later went to Seville in order to complete his studies with José de Sarabia, also from Córdoba, "and they succeeded at the school of the distinguished Francisco de Zurbarán." The relationship with the painter from Extremadura, however, lacks documentary confirmation, although it can be sustained for reasons of stylistic affinity, just as the relationship of kinship, maintained by Palomino, with the Sevillian painter Juan del Castillo is unfounded. On his return from Seville, on June 28, 1635, he married his first wife, Catalina de la Nava, a woman fifteen years older than him and with whom he might have married because of the need to establish himself financially and be able to help his mother and little brothers. He and his wife settled in a rented house on the street in front of the Lamp Hospital and with his wife's dowry they furnished his new home. Most of his income in this early stage came from the works sold in the store that had belonged to his father. He changed his premises twice, settling definitively on August 31, 1641 in the premises located on Calle de Libreros, continuation of Calle de la Feria, currently known as Diario Córdoba. Murillo's teachings would be manifested in his last works, according to Palomino, singularly in a half-length Saint Francis that he painted for the merchant Lorenzo Mateo, which "exceeds good taste, and sweetness in the head, and hands to everything that Castillo did in his life, because the truth is that he lacked a certain grace, and good taste in color». He died on February 2, 1668, in the house on Muñices street without issue. Reference bibliography: Navarrete Prieto, Benito. Garcia de la Torre, Fuensanta (2008). Antonio del Castillo (1616-1668) Drawings. Santander: Marcelino Botín Pedrueca Foundation. ISBN 978-84-96655-19-5; Palomino, Antonio (1986). Lives. Madrid: Form Alliance. ISBN 84-206-7056-1; Palomino, Antonio (1988). The pictorial museum and optical scale III. The Laureate Picturesque Spanish Parnassus. Madrid: Aguilar SA of Editions. ISBN 84-03-88005-7. Measurements: 153 x 197 cm. Attached attribution report issued by Joan Ramón Triadó, Doctor in Art History. Provenance: important Spanish private collection.
Templum Fine Art Auctions
Jun. 07, 2022
ESCUELA ANDALUZA, S.XVII. CÍRCULO DE ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO. SAN JERÓNIMO PENITENTE EN EL DESIERTO.
Est: €3,800 - €6,000
Escuela andaluza, s.XVII. Círculo de Antonio del Castillo (Córdoba, 1616-1668) San Jerónimo penitente en el desierto. Óleo sobre lienzo. San Jerónimo fue uno de los santos más populares de la España del Barroco, ya que servía para insistir en uno de los temas favoritos de la iglesia contrarreformista: la doctrina del arrepentimiento y la penitencia. En esta escena el santo eremita se encuentra en un paisaje agreste en actitud penitente con el torso desnudo y vistiendo túnica roja escuchando el toque de la trompeta del Jucio Final. Con una mano sobre el pecho y sujetando con la otra el crucifijo, sobre éste se encuentra colgado el capelo cardenalicio, bajo su mano la calavera, símbolo de penitencia, una pluma y un tintero dan fe de la dedicación de San Jerónimo a la escritura y a sus pies el león atributo del santo. Reentelado. 167,5 x 107 cm.
Aletheia Subastas
May. 10, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Cordoba (1616) / (1668) "Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus", c. 1645
Est: €13,500 - €18,000
Oil on canvas Provenance: Cordoba, Church of the Trinitarios Calzados (until 1835); Cordoba, Church of Santa Marina de Aguas Santas; José Saló y Junquet collection (from 1854); Barcelona, Sala Parés (according to the label on the back of the work); Barcelona, private collection; Valencia, private collection. Bibliography: Nancarrow, M. and Navarrete, B. "Antonio del Castillo", Fundación de Apoyo a la Historia del Arte Hispánico, Madrid, 2004, pp. 148-158; photograph of the work reproduced in black and white on p. 157, cat. no. 6. This beautiful canvas depicting Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus formed part of the pictorial decoration of the altarpiece of Saint John the Baptist, also known as the altarpiece of the Counts of Menado, in the church of Santa Marina de Aguas Santas. Until now, it was only known from a photographic record in the Mas Archive and from the copy made by the painter José Saló, which still remains in the church. The painting, which occupied the upper part of the left-hand side of the altarpiece, shows Saint Joseph with his head turned three-quarters towards the viewer, holding the flowering rod and holding the Infant Jesus by the hand. The Divine Infant carries a carpenter's saw in allusion to his putative father's trade. As Nancarrow and Navarrete explain in one of the latest monographs on Antonio del Castillo, this painting is characteristically Castillo's, with his typical manner of rendering the folds and, as it is a small-format work, shows greater ease of brushstroke, particularly in the saint's flowered staff and the figure of the Child with the saw in his hands. The puffiness of the Saint Joseph's drapery links this work to Saints Peter and Paul in the Hospital de la Caridad in Cordoba. .75 x 40 cm
Ansorena
Apr. 27, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to Saint Anthony". Oil on canvas. Reengineered.
Est: €10,000 - €12,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Apparition of the Infant Jesus to Saint Anthony". Oil on canvas. Relined. Size: 125 x 103 cm; 150 x 130 cm (frame). In the interior of a room, on a horizontal foreground, appears the Saint of Padua with Franciscan habit seated on a friar's armchair in front of a table-study. On the table are a pen, an inkwell, several books, a note or missive on a double sheet, a branch of lilies - alluding to the Saint's purity - and a skull in a diagonal line towards the centre above a group of three books, two of which have titles on their spines. In the upper area, to the right of a curtain that delimits the room, the Child Jesus descends full-length with the sphere of the world under his left arm, on a throne prepared for him by several little angels in a swirling composition amidst the vaporous clouds. Below, next to the saint, two cherubs, one in frontal position and the other in profile, looking upwards, symbolise the arrival of the Child on Earth. Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we know nothing, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville - of which there is no actual proof - where Palomino describes him as a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master on Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming undoubtedly the city's most important artist. There he produced both religious altarpieces and portraits and medium-sized series. There is no discernible evolution in his work, and he always remained far removed from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. While in his figures of saints he was closer to strict naturalism, in his historical works he tended to be more open-minded, particularly in his use of architectural and landscape decoration. Already classed as a landscape painter by Lázaro Díaz del Valle, Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days on a stroll, on a sketching errand, and copied some places from nature". This statement by the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be particularly interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Feb. 24, 2022
"THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS", ATTRIBUTED TO ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (CÓRDOBA, SPAIN, 1616 - 1668)
Est: €30,000 - €40,000
Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra (Córdoba 1616 - 1668), in addition to standing out as a landscape painter and draftsman, a facet in which he can be counted among the most important painters of the Spanish Golden Age. Born in Córdoba, he was the son of the painter Agustín del Castillo, about whom little is known but whom Palomino calls an "excellent painter" and Ana de Guerra. Initially trained in his father's workshop, he was orphaned at the age of fifteen; being the eldest of four brothers, on November 24, 1631 he appeared before a magistrate in Córdoba asking for a guardian due to his minority. Placed with the imagery painter Ignacio Aedo Calderón, the contract according to the usual terms established that Aedo undertook to teach him the painter's trade so that he could dedicate his life to it. Castillo would serve him as much as possible in exchange for receiving the teacher's training and care as well as being fed, clothed, shoes, and providing him with a place to live while his mother took care of raising his younger siblings. According to Palomino, he later went to Seville in order to complete his studies with José de Sarabia, also from Córdoba, "and they succeeded at the school of the distinguished Francisco de Zurbarán." The relationship with the painter from Extremadura, however, lacks documentary confirmation, although it can be sustained for reasons of stylistic affinity, just as the relationship of kinship, maintained by Palomino, with the Sevillian painter Juan del Castillo is unfounded. On his return from Seville, on June 28, 1635, he married his first wife, Catalina de la Nava, a woman fifteen years older than him and with whom he might have married because of the need to establish himself financially and be able to help his mother and little brothers. He and his wife settled in a rented house on the street in front of the Lamp Hospital and with his wife's dowry they furnished his new home. Most of his income in this early stage came from the works sold in the store that had belonged to his father. He changed his premises twice, settling definitively on August 31, 1641 in the premises located on Calle de Libreros, continuation of Calle de la Feria, currently known as Diario Córdoba. Murillo's teachings would be manifested in his last works, according to Palomino, singularly in a half-length Saint Francis that he painted for the merchant Lorenzo Mateo, which "exceeds good taste, and sweetness in the head, and hands to everything that Castillo did in his life, because the truth is that he lacked a certain grace, and good taste in color». He died on February 2, 1668, in the house on Muñices street without issue. Reference bibliography: Navarrete Prieto, Benito. Garcia de la Torre, Fuensanta (2008). Antonio del Castillo (1616-1668) Drawings. Santander: Marcelino Botín Pedrueca Foundation. ISBN 978-84-96655-19-5; Palomino, Antonio (1986). Lives. Madrid: Form Alliance. ISBN 84-206-7056-1; Palomino, Antonio (1988). The pictorial museum and optical scale III. The Laureate Picturesque Spanish Parnassus. Madrid: Aguilar SA of Editions. ISBN 84-03-88005-7. Measurements: 153 x 197 cm. Attached attribution report issued by Joan Ramón Triadó, Doctor in Art History. Provenance: important Spanish private collection.
Templum Fine Art Auctions
Feb. 08, 2022
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA - Saint Raphael the Archangel
Est: €6,000 - €12,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA Córdoba 1616 - 1668 Saint Raphael the Archangel Oil on canvas Size 160 x 105 cm Provenance: Collection especially Cordoba. It is an unpublished and characteristic work in the pictorial production of Antonio del Castillo that can be related to the version preserved in the City Council of Córdoba with which it maintains a great compositional similarity. However, here the Custodian of Córdoba is represented as a pilgrim - he wears a short cape or cape and carries a cane in his right hand - which recalls the biblical passage described in the Book of Elijah. One of the two cartouches that appear at the feet of the Archangel recalls the Oath to Father Roelas that took place on May 7, 1596: "I swear to you by Jesus Christ Crucified that I am Rafael, an angel whom God has placed as guardian of this town". Bibliography: Navarrete Prieto, Benito and Nancarrow, Mindy; Antonio del Castillo. Life and work, Foundation to Support the History of Hispanic Art, Madrid, 2004.
Subastas Segre
Dec. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Pastoral scene". Oil on canvas.
Est: €14,000 - €18,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Pastoral scene". Oil on canvas. Period frame. Measurements: 125 x 81 cm; 135 x 93 cm (frame). We are in front of a pastoral scene close to other drawings made by Del Castillo Saavedra, today preserved in the collection of the Museum of the Academy of San Fernando, as "Study of shepherd with his flock of sheep" or "Study of hunter with peasants". The present canvas shows the figure of an elderly shepherd. The old man watches over his flock, made up mostly of sheep, although presided over by a bright white goat. Palomino praised Del Castillo Saavedra for his ability to capture nature, and described him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he used to go out for a few days to walk, with an errand to draw, and he copied some places from nature". This note of the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo as a painter especially interested in the representation of nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday characters and animals that populate many of his works and that can be seen in the canvas we are dealing with. Antonio Castillo is the painter considered the father of the Cordovan school. He was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in the religious figures he remained closer to strict naturalism, while in the historical compositions he was usually more open, especially when adding architectures and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his capacity for capturing nature, and described him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he would go out for a few days to walk, with an errand to draw, and he copied some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo as a painter especially interested in the depiction of nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday characters and animals that populate many of his works. Also, numerous drawings by his hand are preserved in which he portrays natures, characters and animals with great accuracy and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself continues to assert that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This determines a direct and truly singular work, of which today there are examples in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum of Malaga and the Cathedral of Cordoba, among other collections and religious centers.
Setdart Auction House
Dec. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Gentleman playing the trumpet". Reed pen, brown and black ink on laid paper.
Est: €8,000 - €9,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). "Gentleman playing the trumpet". Reed pen, brown and black ink on laid paper. Work registered in: Navarrete Prieto, Benito & Garcia de la Torre, Fuensanta, Antonio del Castillo (1616-1668) Drawings. Catalog Raisonné, Marcelino Botin Foundation, 2008. Presents inscription "Castillo", located in the lower left margin. Provenance: Stirling-Maxwell Collection, Keir. Measurements: 14.5 x 10 cm; 37.5 x 28.5 cm (frame). In this work the author presents a drawing of a man playing the trumpet, in whose background can be appreciated what looks like a flag waved by the wind. It is worth mentioning the great draftsmanship of Antonio del Castillo, which was praised by Palomino, who mentioned the great mastery of the author, in addition to reflecting a great abundance in his work as a draftsman. In the article that talks about the painter, written by Benito Navarrete also makes a special mention to Castillo's work as a draftsman; "He is the most important draftsman of the Spanish Golden Age for his versatility, inventiveness and quantity of preserved drawings, in addition to the sustained quality of them". Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known, but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville -of which there is no effective proof-, where Palomino makes him a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura in Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming without discussion the most important artist of the city. There he produced religious altarpieces as well as portraits and medium-sized series. His work does not show any evolution, and he always kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. If in the figures of saints he remains closer to strict naturalism, in the historical productions he tends to be more open, especially because of the ornamentation of architectures and landscapes with which he decorates them. Palomino, already classified among the landscape painters by Lázaro Díaz del Valle, praised his capacity for capturing nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he went out for a few days to walk, with the purpose of drawing, and copied some places from nature". This assertion of the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be especially interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Dec. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668) "Christ tied to the column". Oil on canvas. Relined.
Est: €10,000 - €12,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668) "Christ tied to the column". Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents faults and repainting. It conserves frame of epoch with faults in the gilding. Measurements: 64.5 x 46 cm; 118 x 71 cm (frame). The author of this work uses a very dynamic and unusual composition, which generates a representation of theatrical character. To this way of conceiving the disposition of the characters, the treatment of the figures is joined, which has its maximum exponent in the figure of Christ, with its flattered anatomical canon and its serpentine posture. Christ on the column or Christ tied to the column is an evangelical scene and a very frequent iconographic theme in Christian art, within the cycle of the Passion. The scene takes place in the Praetorium of Jerusalem, the center of Roman power, directed by Pontius Pilate, where Jesus Christ arrived for the second and last time, after passing through different instances (Annas, Caiaphas and Herod). In this biblical episode Christ is exhibited before the one who preferred to free Barabbas rather than him. He is stripped of his clothes and tied to a column, where he is subjected to mockery and torture, among them, the scourging and the crowning with thorns, iconographic denominations that sometimes are totally identifiable with this one and sometimes they are differentiated with precision. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Today, examples are kept in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, etc.
Setdart Auction House
Dec. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to St. Anthony". Oil on canvas. Relined.
Est: €15,000 - €18,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to St. Anthony". Oil on canvas. Relined. Measurements: 125 x 103 cm; 150 x 130 cm (frame). In the interior of a room, on a horizontal foreground, appears the Saint of Padua with Franciscan habit seated on a friar's armchair in front of a table-study. On this one, a pen, an inkwell, several books, a note or missive in double sheet, a branch of lilies -allusive to the condition of purity of the Saint- and a skull in diagonal of escape towards the center on a set of three books, two of which present title in their spine. In the upper zone, to the right of a curtain that delimits the room, the Child Jesus descends in full body with the sphere of the world under his left arm, on a throne prepared for him by several little angels in a swirling composition among the vaporousness of the clouds. Below, next to the Saint, two cherubs, one in frontal position and the other in profile, looking upwards, symbolize the arrival of the Child on Earth. Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known, but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville -of which there is no effective proof-, where Palomino makes him a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura in Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming without discussion the most important artist of the city. There he produced religious altarpieces as well as portraits and medium-sized series. His work does not show any evolution, and he always kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. If in the figures of saints he remains closer to strict naturalism, in the historical productions he tends to be more open, especially because of the ornamentation of architectures and landscapes with which he decorates them. Palomino, already classified among the landscape painters by Lázaro Díaz del Valle, praised his capacity for capturing nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he went out for a few days to walk, with the purpose of drawing, and copied some places from nature". This assertion of the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be especially interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Dec. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Lamentation. Oil on canvas. Relined.
Est: €25,000 - €30,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Lamentation. Oil on canvas. Relined. Presents frame of the eighteenth century. Measurements: 140 x 202 cm; 152 x 211 cm (frame). The composition of the work, added to the light treatment where the contrasts stand out, and the rich coloring used by the artist, in the clothes and the flesh tones of the characters, make us think of the hand of Antonio del Castillo. In fact, it is worth mentioning that the Church of San Andres in Cordoba preserves a work with the same theme and composition that was for a long time attributed to Antonio del Castillo. Iconographically, the scene of the lamentation or weeping over the body of the dead Christ is part of the cycle of the Passion, and is inserted between the Descent from the Cross and the Holy Burial. It narrates the moment in which the body of Christ is deposited on a shroud (in other cases, on the stone of anointing) and they are arranged around him, bursting in laments and sobs, his mother, St. John, the holy women, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. It is a very emotional theme, fruit of popular piety, which concentrates the attention on the drama of the Passion and the loving and sorrowful contemplation, with a realistic and moving sense. The Virgin, covered with a headdress as a sign of mourning and generally placed next to her Son's head, embraces him and mourns, either with a tragic expression or a restrained emotion. St. John is here on the right, standing, although he usually appears comforting Mary or caressing the body of the recumbent. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he was back in his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, to finally become without discussion the most important artist of the city. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-sized series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. Regarding his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an evident evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be appreciated, and he kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Today, examples are kept in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, etc.
Setdart Auction House
Oct. 26, 2021
ANTONIO CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO Y VALLEJO - Marinas Couple
Est: €450 - €675
ANTONIO CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO Y VALLEJO Madrid 1862-1933 Marinas Couple Oil on canvas (two) Signed Vascano Size 24 x 39 cm both
Subastas Segre
Oct. 01, 2021
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA
Est: CHF1,000 - CHF1,500
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) The Andrew the Apostle with his cross, sitting under a tree. Pen and red-brown ink. Monogrammed at lower left edge: AC.. Inscribed in brown pen on the cardboard: 1661 Anto. del Castillo 18 x 12.6 cm. --------------- ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) Der Apostel Andreas mit seinem Kreuz, unter einem Baum sitzend. Feder in Rotbraun. Am linken Rand unten monogrammiert: AC.. Auf Unterlagenkarton mit brauner Feder bezeichnet: 1661 Anto. del Castillo 18 x 12,6 cm.
Koller Auctions
Sep. 21, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). “San Pedro Armengol” and “San Serapio”. Oil on canvas (x2).
Est: €20,000 - €25,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Cordoba, 1616 - 1668). “San Pedro Armengol” and “San Serapio”. Oil on canvas (x2). It presents restorations and repainting. Measurements: 55 x 41 cm (x2); 46 x 61 cm (frame, x2). It is probable that these works belong to an early period of Antonio del Castillo's painting, since in 1642 he was contracted to make several paintings referring to the order of the Mercedarians, which would be destined for the main altar of the convent of Nuestra Señora de Mercedes Outside the Walls. This group of paintings consisted of a representation of Saint Peter Nolasco receiving the habit, and four other smaller ones depicting Saint Armengol, Saint Serapio, Saint María del Socorro and Saint Colaxia. In this particular case, the works presented here show in each case a religious dressed in the habits of the Mercedarians, and bearing various iconographic attributes that identify them as Saint Peter Armengol and Saint Serapius. Saint Peter, set in a landscape, faces the viewer in the centre of the composition, holding a rope in his left hand and resting his right hand on a skull. These attributes allude to the miracle in which the saint was saved from the gallows by the Virgin. A miracle that is represented in the work, in the left area of the last plane, where the figure of the saint can be seen, accompanied by several men in Arab costumes, and finally in a higher plane, the figure of the Virgin. The work depicting Saint Serapius has a similar composition in terms of the conception of the pictorial distribution. However, in this case the saint is slightly displaced to the left, raising his face to the sky without looking at the viewer's gaze. In this work, the protagonist only holds the palm of martyrdom, while his other hand is directed towards a scene in the distance, in which the torture he suffered can be seen. Tied to the cross, in the form of a crossbow, we can see how the Saracens tear out his intestines. Antonio Castillo is considered the father of the Cordovan school, known for his work as a painter, but he was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith's projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little-known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also thought that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old in 1626 and went on to train in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no record, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is thought that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the Extremaduran master that historians have seen in Castillo's work. However, in 1635 he returned to his native Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, eventually becoming the city's most important artist without question. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, including religious altarpieces, portraits and medium-format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordoban painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro and Gámez. With regard to his language, Antonio del Castillo did not develop an obvious evolution in his work, although towards the end of his life a more softened language can be discerned, and he remained on the fringes of the baroque innovations of other contemporary painters. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he introduced the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Today, examples can be found in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, etc.
Setdart Auction House
Jun. 29, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA - Saint Raphael the Archangel
Est: -
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA Córdoba 1616 - 1668 Saint Raphael the Archangel Oil on canvas Measures 160 x 105 cm Origin: Collection particular, Córdoba. It is an unpublished and characteristic work in the pictorial production of Antonio del Castillo that can be related to the version preserved in the Córdoba City Hall with which it maintains a great compositional similarity. However, here the Custodian of Córdoba is represented as a pilgrim - he wears a short cape or cape and carries the cane in his right hand - that recall the biblical passage described in the Book of Elijah. One of the two signs that appear at the feet of the Archangel recall the Oath to Father Roelas that occurred on May 7, 1596: "I swear to you by Crucified Jesus Christ that I am Raphael, an angel whom God has placed as guardian of this town". Bibliography: Navarrete Prieto, Benito y Nancarrow, Mindy; Antonio del Castillo. Life and Work, Foundation for the Support of the History of Hispanic Art, Madrid, 2004.
Subastas Segre
Jun. 01, 2021
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to St. Anthony". Oil on canvas. Re-lined
Est: €35,000 - €40,000
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Appearance of the Child Jesus to St. Anthony". Oil on canvas. Re-lined Size: 125 x 103 cm; 150 x 130 cm (frame). In the interior of a room, on a horizontal foreground, appears the Saint of Padua with Franciscan habit seated on a friar's armchair in front of a table-study. On this one, a pen, an inkwell, several books, a note or missive in double sheet, a branch of lilies -allusive to the condition of purity of the Saint- and a skull in diagonal of escape towards the center on a set of three books, two of which present title in their spine. In the upper zone, to the right of a curtain that delimits the room, the Child Jesus descends in full body with the sphere of the world under his left arm, on a throne prepared for him by several little angels in a swirling composition among the vaporousness of the clouds. Below, next to the Saint, two cherubs, one in frontal position and the other in profile, looking upwards, symbolize the arrival of the Child on Earth. Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was the son of an Extremaduran painter from Llerena, Agustín del Castillo, whose work is little known, but whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". He was orphaned in 1626 and was educated by another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. At an unknown date he may have arrived in Seville -of which there is no effective proof-, where Palomino makes him a pupil of Zurbarán, which has been corroborated in view of the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura in Castillo's work. In 1635 he was in Cordoba, where he married and settled permanently, becoming without discussion the most important artist of the city. There he produced religious altarpieces as well as portraits and medium-sized series. In his work there is no evolution, and he always kept away from the baroque novelties of other contemporary painters. If in the figures of saints he remains closer to strict naturalism, in the historical productions he tends to be more open, especially because of the ornamentation of architectures and landscapes with which he decorates them. Palomino, already classified among the landscape painters by Lázaro Díaz del Valle, praised his capacity for capturing nature, describing him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he went out for a few days to walk, with the purpose of drawing, and copied some places from nature". This assertion of the treatise writer is interesting, as it shows Antonio del Castillo to be especially interested in capturing nature, both in landscapes and in everyday characters and animals.
Setdart Auction House
Apr. 20, 2021
ANTONIO CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Calvary". Oil on canvas.
Est: €25,000 - €30,000
ANTONIO CASTILLO SAAVEDRA (Córdoba, 1616 - 1668). "Calvary". Oil on canvas. Measurements: 51 x 100 cm .; 71.5 x 120 cm. (frame). Scenographic composition charged with spiritual intensity, with the theme of the Crucifixion of Christ. The expiring body strategically occupies the exact center of the composition, being crossed by the two condemned thieves next to him, whose crosses appear symbolically tilted, as if they were adopting a humble and subjugated attitude in deference to the Lord. Castillo Saavedra boldly handles the light to submit it to tenebrist formulas that chisel the deceased bodies, model the pale torsos with naturalism, capturing the pathos. The three figures that, at the foot of the cross, gesticulate their pain, are (as usual in the iconography of Calvary): Mary Magdalene, St. John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary, who express with heartfelt and individualized dramaturgy. With great skill, the Cordovan artist depicts the hordes of soldiers and vigilantes that are already beginning to move away from the scene, descending the valley of Golgotha in dense groups. In short, we are before a composition fully inscribed in the Baroque, of tenebrist lights and deep religious feeling. It is very interesting to compare our work with the Calvary that was in the palace of the Inquisition, today preserved in the Museum of Fine Arts of Cordoba. Of larger format but of much simpler composition, the latter work shares precisely the same central figure of Christ as the work we present here, and our work may be a version or preparatory idea for that commission. A painter considered the father of the Cordovan school, Antonio del Castillo was also a polychromator and designer of architectural, decorative and goldsmith projects. He was the son of Agustín del Castillo, a little known painter from Llerena (Extremadura) whom Palomino describes as "an excellent painter". It is also believed that he may have trained as a polychromator in Calderón's workshop. However, he was orphaned when he was only ten years old, in 1626, and went on to develop his training in the workshop of another painter of whom we have no news, Ignacio Aedo Calderón. Although there is no real evidence of this, it is believed that he may have arrived in Seville, where, according to Palomino, he entered Zurbarán's workshop. This has been corroborated by the stylistic influence of the master from Extremadura that historians have seen in Castillo's work. His fame and quality earned him important commissions, among them religious altarpieces, portraits and medium format series. He was also the teacher of outstanding Cordovan painters of the following generation, such as Juan de Alfaro y Gámez. However, like the rest of his contemporaries, he was seduced by the novelty of Murillo's work, and in his last years he would introduce the Venetian chromatic softness of the Sevillian master. Generally speaking, in the figures of saints he remains closer to strict naturalism, while in the historical compositions he tends to be more open, especially when adding architectures and landscapes to his paintings. Palomino praised his ability to capture nature, and described him as "an excellent landscape painter, for which he would go out for a few days on a walk, with an errand to draw, and he copied some places from nature". This note by the treatise writer shows Antonio del Castillo as a painter especially interested in the depiction of nature, something evident not only in his landscapes but also in the everyday characters and animals that populate many of his works. Also, numerous drawings by his hand are preserved in which he portrays natures, characters and animals with great accuracy and immediacy. In fact, Palomino himself continues to assert that Castillo's love of drawing led him to make "drawings of whatever was offered to him". This determines a direct and truly singular work, of which today there are examples in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles, the Louvre, the Metropolitan in New York, the Courtauld Institute in London, the Municipal Museum of Malaga and the Cathedral of Cordoba, among other collections and religious centers.
Setdart Auction House
Mar. 26, 2021
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA
Est: CHF1,800 - CHF2,500
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) St. John, St. Andrew and further saints, carried by angels. Pen and brush in brown ink, traces of grey, heightened in white. Old mount. 32 x 24.2 cm. --------------- ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) St. Johannes, St. Andreas und weiterer Heiliger, von Engeln getragen. Feder und Pinsel in Braun, Spuren von Grau, weiss gehöht. Alte Montierung. 32 x 24,2 cm.
Koller Auctions
Mar. 26, 2021
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA
Est: CHF1,200 - CHF1,500
ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) Study of the heads of apostles. Pen and brown ink. Annotations in Spanish in pen and brown ink. 18 x 13.5 cm. --------------- ANTONIO CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (1603 Cordoba 1668) Studie zu Apostelköpfen. Feder in Braun. Mit brauner Feder Annotationen in spanischer Sprache. 18 x 13,5 cm.
Koller Auctions
May. 29, 2020
Attribué à ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO (Cordoue 1616 - Cordoue 1688) Saint François en extase
Est: €1,500 - €2,000
Attribué à ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO (Cordoue 1616 - Cordoue 1688) Saint François en extase Plume et encre brune. (Pliures, petites taches et petits manques sur les bords). 24,5 x 17 cm
Ader
Jan. 25, 2018
Antonio del Castillo. Studies of architecture
Est: -
CASTILLO, ANTONIO DEL (1616 - 1668). "Estudio de arquitectura". Dibujo a tinta sobre papel reforzado, mostrando tres estudios de figuras arquitectónicas. Firmado y fechado en la parte central. 27.5 x 16.5 cm
Duran Arte y Subastas
Dec. 19, 2017
17th CENTURY ANDALUSIAN SCHOOL
Est: -
ESCUELA ANDALUZA SIGLO XVII Círculo de Antonio del Castillo (1616-1668). "Calvario", óleo sobre lienzo, 105x75 cm.
Sala de Ventas
Apr. 29, 2015
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO | Saint Acisclus holding a sword and a martyr's palm, crowned by a putti; Saint Victoria, holding an arrow and a martyr's palm, crowned by a putti
Est: £40,000 - £60,000
a pair, both oil on canvas
Sotheby's
Oct. 28, 2014
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO Y SAAVEDRA (ATTRIB.)
Est: -
(Córdoba, 1616-1668). "Descendimiento de la Cruz", dibujo a lápiz y aguada sobre papel, 30x40 cm.
Sala de Ventas
Jun. 16, 2012
Castillo y Saavedra, Antonio del Umkreis
Est: - €1,200
Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra circle. Shephards family. Oil on panel. Unsigned. Verso probably older attribution of the royal academy of arts San Fernando, Madrid, to Antonio Castillo. Retouching, panel bent. GERMAN TEXT: 1616 Córdoba - 1668 ebd. Hirtenfamilie. Öl/Holz. Vor einer mit Stroh bedeckten Hütte die versammelte Familie sowie zwei Hunde und Schweine. Im Hintergrund eine weite Ebene mit Schafherde. Unsign. Verso undeutlich bez., wohl alte Bestätigung der Königlichen Akademie der Künste San Fernando, Madrid, dass das Werk Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra zuzuschreiben sei und die Akademie eine Zeichnung zum vorliegenden Werk besitze. Retuschen, Tafel gebogen. H. 24, B. 19 cm.
Auktionshaus Kaupp GmbH
Mar. 04, 2010
Antonio del Castillo Saavedra (Córdoba, 1616-1668)
Est: - €12,000
Antonio del Castillo Saavedra (Córdoba, 1616-1668) Ecce Homo Oil painting on canvas. 101x78 cm.
Balclis
Jan. 28, 2010
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLO
Est: $30,000 - $50,000
SAINTS PHILLIP AND JAMES
Sotheby's
Sep. 29, 2007
ANTONIO DEL CASTILLOY SAAVEDRA, O/C, FIGURES AT
Est: $5,000 - $6,000
Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra, Spanish, 1616-1668, O/C, Seated Figures at Dinner. Frame is signed on the back : Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra, a Spanish Baroque painter. Canvas has a split in the top right, and a few small areas of in painting show up under a black light. 30.5"W x 48"H. Estimated Value $5,000-6,000.
Fontaine's Auction Gallery
Mar. 22, 2007
Saint Christophe appuyé sur un bâton portant l'Enfant Jésus sur son épaule
Est: €1,000 - €1,500
Attribué à Antonio del Castillo (Cordoue 1616-1668) Saint Christophe appuyé sur un bâton portant l'Enfant Jésus sur son épaule avec inscription 'P. [...]' plume et encre brune 141 x 101 mm.
Christie's
Jul. 04, 2006
Antonio del Castillo (Cordoba 1603-1667)
Est: £2,000 - £3,000
A rocky landscape overgrown with trees with inscription 'm o. R[eales]' (recto) and with extensive inscriptions in Spanish (verso, laid down) pen and brown ink, the borders irregular 11 1/4 x 8 1/2 in. (312 x 217 mm.)
Christie's