Juan de Juanes (Fuente la Higuera, Valencia, 1503/05 - Bocairente, Valencia, 1577)

Juan de Juanes (Fuente la Higuera, Valencia, 1503/05 - Bocairente, Valencia, 1577)
 
"Our Lady of the Milk, Christ Child carrying the cross with the help of a young angel and the child Saint John”  
Oil on panel. 95,5 x 68 cm. Circa 1524 -25 
As Professor Isabel Mateo notes in her study, the model is derived from a lost original by Leonardo, which arrived in Valencia through the versions by Yañez de la Almedina, and which, years later, was the inspiration for the theme of Luis de Morales’ Virgin and Child with the infant St. John the Baptist 
Isabel Mateo outlines that, in the composition of our painting, the angel and the Virgin Mary have gilded double haloes, a characteristic of Juanes, whilst the Child’s head is decorated with the three powers, mixed with his golden curls. The infant Saint John does not have a halo, and embraces the lower part of the cross.  
Mateo highlights the magnificent quality of the hand. The wide sleeves bare the left arm and the exquisite hand rests against the breast to help feed the Child. However, Mary’s right hand and the angel’s left are more clumsy, due to a repaint, which explains the difference in quality.  
In Juanes’ painting the faces of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph and the Infant Saint John are always a constant - in the panel we describe here as well as in in the Mystical Wedding of the Venerable Agnesio panel in the Valencia Museum of Fine Arts and in the Holy Family with the Infant Saint John at Valencia City Hall. Also, the model for the singing angel in the panel of the Adoration of the Shepherds in the Museum of Valladolid is repeated in this painting.  
This panel was first attributed to Juanes’ father, Macip, but was later added to Juanes’ catalogue, from his early period of 1520-1525, during which he worked alongside his father. It is very interesting to see that in this youthful period in which the painting was executed Juanes was already discovering Italian art, and its influence is visible in his work of this period.  
As Isabel Mateo notes, there is no doubt that Macip and Juanes formed a team in Valencian painting that united the Leonardo tradition with that of Raphael. Although Macip created the style, Juanes made it popular, adding more advanced Renaissance elements.  
The painting comes with a certificate by Professor Isabel Mateo.