ANDRÉS DE MELGAR (ACTIVE MID-16TH CENTURY, S. DOMINGO DE LA CALZADA), FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE TÁMARA MASTER

The expressive character of Saint Andrew's face is comparable to that of the kneeling Magus in an Epiphany given to the Támara Master in the Prats collection, Barcelona (see D.A. Iñiguez, Ars Hispaniae. Vol. XII. Pintura del siglo XVI, Madrid, 1954, p. 108, fig. 104). We are grateful to Isabel Mateo for endorsing the attribution to the Támara Master and proposing that the present work was painted by Andrés de Melgar, a follower of Alonso González de Berruguete who developed his personal style in the area of La Rioja, close to Navarra, Burgos the western region of Castille and León and Zamora (written communication, 15 September 2020). Indeed, works traditionally given to the Támara Master on the basis of similarities to the artist's namepiece, an altarpiece formerly in the church of San Hipólito in Támara (Palencia), are now recognized to be by the hands of two artists, Alonso Gallego and Andrés de Melgar, following research published by Moya Balgañon ('Aspectos del Arte Riojano en los tiempos de Navarrete', Quinta jornada de Arte Riojano, Logroño, 1995).