Pedro Núñez del Valle, Spanish, 1590/94-1649
Title: Jael and Sisera
Date: 1620s
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
124 x 134 cm
Signed: lower right: P° nu[...]ez F
Credit Line: Presented, Sir Hugh Lane, 1914
Object Number: NGI.667
DescriptionThis composition illustrates the story from Judges (4:17-24) of Jael, the Hebrew widow who killed Sisera (the general of the Canaanites who had terrorised the people of Israel) by driving a tent pin into his temple while he slept in her tent. Caravaggesque accents are most evident in this theatrical representation of the biblical episode, and the artist has taken great care to describe the armour and costumes meticulously. The theme may have been chosen to illustrate the triumph of faith over heresy.
Nothing is known about the early life of this painter, possibly born in Valladolid or Madrid, including any details of his training. He clearly visited Rome and, in a canvas dated 1623 which he made for the church of San Lorenzo in Huesca, Spain, he calls himself ‘Academicus Romanus’, which tells us that he was, perhaps briefly, a member of the Academy of St Luke. Naturalism, at least at the beginning, was his preferred artistic language, with references to the work of numerous Caravaggesque artists, along with his own blend of slightly stiff figures and richly decorated surfaces. The signature of Núñez on this picture is of upmost importance for the reconstruction of his early career, because soon after his return to Spain his style conformed to the conventional mannerisms preferred in Madrid.
March 2016
Nothing is known about the early life of this painter, possibly born in Valladolid or Madrid, including any details of his training. He clearly visited Rome and, in a canvas dated 1623 which he made for the church of San Lorenzo in Huesca, Spain, he calls himself ‘Academicus Romanus’, which tells us that he was, perhaps briefly, a member of the Academy of St Luke. Naturalism, at least at the beginning, was his preferred artistic language, with references to the work of numerous Caravaggesque artists, along with his own blend of slightly stiff figures and richly decorated surfaces. The signature of Núñez on this picture is of upmost importance for the reconstruction of his early career, because soon after his return to Spain his style conformed to the conventional mannerisms preferred in Madrid.
March 2016
ProvenanceRecorded in the account book of Sir J.C. Robinson as a Velázquez purchased at a sale at Foster's, London, June 1891; Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions Haus, Berlin, 29 March 1914, Sir J.C. Robinson and C. Newton Robinson sale, lot 15, bought in; Christie's, 22 May 1914, J.C. Robinson sale, lot 143; Mr. Earwicker; Sir Hugh Lane; presented, Sir Hugh Lane, June 1914.
Exhibition HistoryExhibition of Spanish Art, The New Gallery, London, 1895-1896
Pictures by Old Masters Given and Bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by the Late Sir Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1918
The Art of Power: Royal Armour & Portraits from Imperial Spain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 28 June - 29 November 2009
The Art of Power, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 8 March - 16 May 2010
Roma al Tempo di Caravaggio, 1600-1630, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Rome, 16 November 2011 - 5 February 2012
Pictures by Old Masters Given and Bequeathed to the National Gallery of Ireland by the Late Sir Hugh Lane, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1918
The Art of Power: Royal Armour & Portraits from Imperial Spain, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 28 June - 29 November 2009
The Art of Power, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 8 March - 16 May 2010
Roma al Tempo di Caravaggio, 1600-1630, Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia, Rome, 16 November 2011 - 5 February 2012
Label TextThe Spanish artist Núñez del Valle studied in Rome. His early work reflects the influence of Caravaggio and his followers. Old Testament subjects are rare in seventeenth-century Spanish art. This painting relates the story of the Hebrew widow, Jael, who killed a merciless Canaanite general named Sisera. She welcomed him into her tent and, while he slept, drove a tent pole into his temple. Here, Jael shows Sisera’s body to the Hebrew leader, Barac, and his soldiers. The scene is portrayed in a contemporary Spanish setting.