Beschreibung:

Spanish school, attributed to Sebastián de Llanos y Valdés (ca. 1605-1677): The head of Saint Paul, oil on canvas, 17th C.
Work: 78 x 60,5 cm Frame: 101,5 x 86 cm The oeuvre of Sebastián de Llanos y Valdés (Sevilla) consists almost entirely of religious imagery and, from the 1660s and 1670s on, he painted several severed heads of martyr saints, a traditional painting genre (especially for Sevillian artists), that can be traced back to Spanish sculpture from the last quarter of the 16th C. A similar version was sold at Sotheby's, London, 16 Juli 2014, lot 9 (link). Another comparison can be made with the signed and dated (1675) 'Head of a beheaded Saint Martyr', Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. no. RF 1955-24 (link). Condition: (UV-checked) - The painting in good and hangable condition. - Relined, most probably due to a tear in the left top corner. - Some retocuhes here and there (especially borders, background, etc.). - Face without overpaint.