Diego de Aliaga (Andean Viceroyalty, Active between 1770 - 1780) Patronage of Saint Joseph. Oil on canvas. Signed 'Didacus ab Aliaga mi P...' and dated in Jujuy, 1774. 90 x 71 cm. A work comparable to this one, although smaller in size and depicting Our Lady of Mercy with the Holy Trinity, also dated in Jujuy a year earlier, 1773, was auctioned at Christie's on 19 May 2019, fetching $52,000 (auction no. 15922 Latin American Art). As noted by Arca (Colonial art project at the University of the Andes): 'Aliaga was an artist active in the region of Jujuy, Argentina. He is best known for 'The Way of the Cross,' painted in the church of San Francisco in Jujuy, Argentina, between 1772 and 1776'. This is a wonderful canvas from New Spain with one of the most popular images in New Spanish art, showing a saint (in this case) or the Virgin Mary protecting communities, religious orders, corporations and authorities under her mantle (appealing to clientelism and corporations in a way typical of the Ancient Regime), the main recipients of her heavenly benefits. Saint Joseph is crowned 'as King' of heaven by two flying angels, with Mary his wife portrayed in the flaming sun of his tunic, who is also protector and mediator. Under his broad mantle, raised and supported by two other figures who serve and adore, the saint protects the King and the Pope, in short, the rulers and the faithful (almost always nobles) and the bishops and clerics of the pilgrim church, including religious orders. Clement XIV and Charles III, King by the Grace of God of Spain and the Indies, the Pope who suppressed the Society of Jesus in 1773, and the sovereign who pointed out 'their good deeds', since he had already expelled them from Spain in 1767, are named. They all wear a special gala costume, and the two orders are distinguished by the colour of their habit, brown on the left and black in the background. The common folk are distinguished by their colourful coats, all of them thus demanding respect for this convention. Clientelism, the link between courtiers and the king, or lower-ranking nobles and relatives, established a relationship of submission and dependence. This clientelistic scheme 'extended to heaven', and the saints were seen as patrons of their faithful, and from there 'their patronage' descended to the court, where the monarch was compared to God, as he protected and preserved his officials, who were considered 'his creatures and his workmanship'. However, the great distance that separated earthly sovereigns (civil or religious) from the heavenly sovereign is emphasised by these signs: before the king, the subject puts only one knee on the ground, but before God, present in the Eucharist, or before the Virgin Queen, getting down on both knees was the greatest sign of submission, as we see in this painting. A low, centred cartouche gives the location as Jujuy, a province in Argentina, and the date 1774, and those who commissioned the painting appear, 'as humble slaves of Saint Joseph': 'Devajo del Poderozo Nsanto de tu Soberano Patrosino Señor Patriarca Sn Joseph, viven, y morirán Voestros humble slaves Dn Francisco Joseph Dias y su esposa Da Maria Petrona Araoz: Jujuy, año 1774. Didacus (Diego) ab Aliaga mi p...(pingebat)'. (Under the powerful sanctity of your sovereignty, Lord Patriarch Saint Joseph, live and die your slaves Francisco Joseph Dias and his wife Maria Petrona Araoz: Jujuy, in the year 1774, followed by the painter's name). Its imposing period frame is outstanding, the openwork basketry and scrolls of vegetation decoration, similar to those seen in lace are finely carved and gilded. It draws attention to the nobility and quality of this work, not only from the historical point of view, but also from the artistic point of view. Bibliographic reference: - https://arcav1.uniandes.edu.co/artworks/8694