Lot 107: Pedro Machuca (Toledo circa 1490-1550 Grenada) The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria

The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
oil on panel
122.2 x 98.4cm (48 1/8 x 38 3/4in).

PROVENANCE:
A noble Spanish Collection from at least the early 20th century and thence by descent to the present owner

Machuca was an architect in addition to being a painter, and his most important work was the Palace of Charles V in the Alhambra at Grenada, the direction of which occupied him almost exclusively between 1527 and 1550. As a painter it is thought that he was active from a very early age in Italy, where a number of frescoes in the Vatican have been attributed to him, including Isaiah blessing Jacob. At first linked by critics with Michelangelo (1475-1564), Raphael (1483-1520) and Fra' Bartolomeo (1472-1517), he was considered by Roberto Longhi as an early exponent of Italian Mannerism. It now seems more likely that he was at least connected from 1515 to 1516 with Raphael's workshop. Machuca's interest in nocturnal effects and his use of exaggerated gesture indicate the influence of Leonardo (1452-1519), while he also appears to have been receptive to the work of Rosso Fiorentino (1494–1540), Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530) and Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547).