FRANCISCO ANTOLÍNEZ Y SARABIA

The essential source of information about the biography of Francisco Antolínez is the Parnassus of Spanish Honoured Painters that Antonio Palomino published in 1724, although, regarding this painter, with some errors corrected by Ceán Bermúdez in the Historical Dictionary of 1800 and by later researchers. Some sources say that he was a brother of Jose Antolínez, more famous than himself, and others say he was his nephew; in any case, they were relatives. According to Palomino, he was a man dedicated to learning and the exercise of law, and the painting was no more than just a hobby that he practiced from time to time. In this exercise, and more particularly in little scenes with landscape at the background, he reached an extraordinary ability, at least for a connoisseur. Palomino also informs that Francisco Antolínez earned his life by selling his canvases in the surroundings of Madrid, where he had been transferred in 1672. As the painting was at that time mechanical and servile, and therefore pejorative and onerous for those who were occupied with it, Francisco Antolínez preferred to pass for "a lawyer and not a painter", the reason why he was hiding his leisure and did not sign most of his works. A painting that can serve as a touchstone in his artistic career which is signed and dates back to 1678 is Adoration of Shepherds in the cathedral of Seville. The rest of his works are marked by a noticeable influence of Murillo in scenes of small or medium size that in most cases formed, in origin, series of six, eight or twelve canvases, of different quality. A certain unfinished touch that one can find in his works is due to a constant lack of money and the poverty of the painter: the canvases were painted in a hurry to be sold immediately and to provide their master with some money to be able to make two ends meet. Palomino, who was a friend of his, stated that “he aspired to something superior”. What is known for sure is that his “wild and extravagant genius”, even a little bit of mania, did not allow him to be successful in the profession of a lawyer, and so painting turned for him to be a way to earn money, although he tried other jobs as well. After the death of his wife he was resolved to become a priest, but he did not manage, probably because of his choleric temperament. He died in Madrid in 1700 and he was buried in the parochial church in San Millán.

José and the wife of Putifar

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