Sebastián Martínez Domedel (Jaén c. 1615-1667 Madrid)

This recently rediscovered painting constitutes an important addition to the work of Sebastián Martínez Domedel, an artist praised by the Spanish painter and author Antonio Palomino (1653-1726), who erroneously described him as a pupil of Diego Velázquez. Though comparatively little is known of Martínez's life, he probably received his early artistic training in his hometown before completing his studies in Seville and Cordova. In 1660 he moved to Madrid, where he was named court painter to King Philip IV of Spain.

Saint Paul of Thebes, regarded as the first Christian hermit, is said to have lived alone in the desert for nearly one hundred years until his death at the age of 113. For nearly thirty years, he was nourished exclusively from the fruit of a palm tree, until a raven began to bring him half a loaf of bread daily. Here, Martínez depicts this daily ritual in which the saint casts his eyes to the sky and extends his right hand upward in order to receive the raven's gift. In this mature work dating to circa 1650 based on its similarities with the Saint Joseph and the Christ Child (Museo del Prado, Madrid), the dramatic lighting and the saint's sinewy features conveyed through coarsely applied paint suggest the prevailing influence of Jusepe de Ribera as well as those of Genoese and other Neapolitan artists whose works he would have had ready access to in Spain.