(Zaragoza 1462–1505) and (Zaragoza documented circa 1498–1513)
The Betrayal of Christ,
oil on panel, painted surface 71 x 51 cm, overall 95 x 61 cm, in an engaged frame

Provenance:
Collection of Alfonso Pérez de Guzmán y San Juan, 1st Marquis of Marbais, and his wife Mercedes Escrivá de Romaní y Sentmenat, 5th Marquise of Campillo de Murcia, Lady of the Maestranza of Seville, and Countess of Sástago, Madrid, 1969;
Private collection Barcelona;
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Zaragoza, Palacio de la Aljafería, Fernando II de Aragón, el rey que imaginó Espana y la abrió a Europa, 10 March – 7 June 2015 (as Miguel Ximénez and workshop)

Literature:
A. Velasco Gonzales, Beso de Judas, in: M. Rajoy, Fernando II de Aragón, el rey que imaginó Espana y la abrió a Europa, exhibition catalogue, Zaragoza 2015, p. 310–311 (as attributed to Miguel Ximénez and workshop);
A. Velasco Gonzales, Aportaciones a los catálogos de pinturas de Miguel Ximénez (doc. 1462–1505) y Martín Bernat (doc. 1450–1505), pintores de Zaragoza, in: Ars & Renovatio, 2015, no. III, p. 197, illustrated p. 198, fig. 1 (as Miguel Ximénez and workshop)

Alberto Velasco Gonzàles attributes the present work to both artists and dates it to around 1498–1505. His certificate accompanies this lot, dated 12 April 2024.

The present composition, due to its iconography and dimensions, was most likely part of a Passion of Christ cycle, originally part of the predella of an altarpiece, of which only this panel remains today.

Recent research and archival discoveries have provided new insights into the authorship of such panels, including the present work, attributed to both Miguel and Juan Ximénez. It is now possible to confirm that this particular work was executed during the final years of Miguel Ximénez’s career. As one of the leading figures of the late Hispano-Flemish Gothic style in Aragon, Miguel increasingly relied on his workshop, particularly his son Juan, to complete the numerous commissions he received. This collaboration became especially vital as Miguel’s career drew to a close. His significance as an artist is further highlighted by his appointment in 1484 as the official painter to King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452–1516) known as Ferdinand the Catholic.

As scholarship continues to evolve, it will undoubtedly shed further light on the brief yet intense artistic career of Juan Ximénez, whose contributions to his father’s legacy and the broader Aragonese artistic tradition are becoming increasingly recognised.

Technical analysis by Gianluca Poldi

The work is painted on two boards placed horizontally. The back is covered with brown plastering and paint, preventing the structure of the original boards from being seen.

On the white ground, a detailed underdrawing is revealed by IR reflectograms, made – at least in the figures – with a brush and carbon-based black ink. This drawing is extremely detailed in the outlines, the folds of the clothes and the shadows, showing a diagonal hatching typical of a right-handed painter, with very regular and rather dense parallel strokes to carefully indicate the shading.

A few changes occur in the figures, regarding for example the position of the eyes of Christ and Judas, and some larger changes in the landscape, where the halberd shaft when first drawn held a long flag and the landscape on the right appeared different, with spears and other elements now eliminated. It’s impossible to read using infrared rays under the many areas containing black pigment, such as the armour, which we imagine were also drawn in detail.

Among pigments, azurite was largely used in all the blue areas examined by reflectance spectroscopy (vis-RS), and a carmine-type red lake (from coccid insects) is mixed in Christ’s robe and widely employed in the shadows of Saint Peter’s mantle. Verdigris mainly constitutes the green areas.

The halos of Peter and Jesus are in relief, then covered in brown bole and gold, as are the edges of the three protagonists’ clothes.