Gregorio Vázquez de Arce (Bogotá, Colombia, 1638 - 1711) "The Mercedarians of the prison of Santa Fe de Bogota". Oil on canvas. 179,5 x 237 cm. This is one of the greatest examples of the undisputed quality of Gregorio Vásquez de Arce, an influential Colombian painter, the most important painter from 17th century New Granada. This enormous canvas of exquisite workmanship is also a historical record of vital importance, testifying to the existence of specific jails and prisons in the 18th century. Their population has been quantified through the study carried out by Doctor Juan Sebastián Ariza Martínez, "in this royal court jail of Santafé according to the visitor's books (1776-1783)". On the ARCA website they report that Vasquez de Arce "was imprisoned in 1701 and a large part of his works, 42 of them commissioned by the Sagrario Chapel in Bogota, were finished in jail". This information is particularly relevant to the painting we have here, as the artist would have been in the same prison (cell, hospital, convent...) that the painting depicts. In fact, the painter appears in a self-portrait in the right margin, contemplatively witnessing a Mercedarian, a religious order dedicated to captives and prisoners, washing the feet of one of the prisoners who was to be released on Holy Thursday. The moment of the "Washing of the feet" is only present in the Gospel of John and symbolically represents a reminder of the act of humility, service and forgiveness that Jesus performed during the last supper, and that is commemorated every Holy Thursday by the Catholic Church. Once released from prison, in 1710, he fell into poverty and mental illness and died in 1711. This painting bears undeniable similarities with one of the most important and popular artworks by Gregorio Vásquez, "The Abbot Joaquín de Fiore delivering the portraits of St. Francis and St. Dominic", an oil painting on canvas dated in1680. On that canvas, the artist painted a self portrait, with his back turned, and showing his features in profile, with an aquiline nose. This corresponds to the character located more to the right of this scene we have here. Additionally, we recognize an identical palette of soft and attenuated colour based on grays and earthy colours, the same pictorial technique, which is characteristic of Vasquez, and the same treatment of the volumes of the characters in the painting and the use of architecture to situate the scene, creating spaces, shadows and light. It is usual in the very large Gregorio Vasquez paintings, he places the scenic narrative in an architectural space. We find it in this painting that we have here in the catalogue and also in "Heliodorus shot by angels", which was painted at the end of the 17th century, as well as in the Scene of 'San Juan de Dios' that is in the Church of San Juan de Dios in Bogota. In the wonderful painting "St. Albertus Magnus preaching" belonging to a private collection in Bogota, we find similarities in the treatment of the religious characters, with a somewhat bluish complexion, the disposition of the bodies and once again the use of an architectural element. It is also interesting to note the similarities in the face of the character that we identify in our canvas as the painter, with his self-portrait made in 1685. These comparisons lead us to conclude that the character appearing at the extreme right of this canvas is undoubtedly the artist. An additional interesting point is that the model used for the 'St. Jude Thaddeus' by Gregorio Vasquez, which is kept in the collection at the Museos Banco de la República, seems to be the same as the one used for the Mercedarian monk who is washing the feet of the prisoner; having same bone structure, with marked cheekbones, a long, thin nose, the same hairline with a widow's peak and a beard and mustache. The same model is used again by Vasquez to portray the Repentant Saint Peter found in the Sagrario Chapel in Bogota, or in the Head of the Apostle James the Less in the Rivas Sacconi collection in Bogota. Finally, as was usual in his subject matter, religious devotion takes centre stage as his patrons were mostly members of religious communities, in this case dedicated to the Mercedarians. During the viceregal period, prison was understood to be a place of control used by the authorities to cleanse society of people whose actions threatened social order. In this picture, showing part of the real history of Latin America, the legal corpus or space used by the colonial authorities for the custody and guarding of criminals is shown; and Santafé, as the viceregal capital of the New Kingdom of Granada, had three jails, in addition to barracks, hospitals and convents that functioned as places of detention. We believe, therefore, that the space depicted on this canvas can also be considered one of these aforementioned places. It is distributed over types of small cells with separating curtains which are numbered with a cartouche on the doors to establish an order, and thus number each of the jail's inmates. This impressive painting of a religious and historical character is worked with delicate layers of colour or glazes, with the contrasts of light and shadows typical of Italian and Spanish painters of the time, conveying devotion and gentleness, full of kind and noble expressions. It is a painting that invites the viewer, once again, to the contemplation of a sacred moment. With a prolific career that spanned much of his life, Vasquez left a legacy of religious artworks that significantly influenced the artistic development of the region. His style combines elements of European baroque with a sensitivity and devotion typical of the Latin American context of the 17th century. Vásquez, in fact, through his work, was a central figure in the consolidation of the Baroque in New Granada and his influence extended to later generations of artists in the region. Later painters took his style and adapted it to local needs, making his work a fundamental point of reference in the history of viceregal art. Marta Fajardo de Rueda, in an interesting article in the National University of Colombia magazine HiSTOReLo, affirms, in relation to the importance of the painter, that "with the work of Gregorio Vásquez and some of his followers, the existence of a Santa Fe school of painting can be identified. They had a similar interpretation of the engravings from which they assimilated the fundamentals of baroque painting. They are characterized by an attenuated use of colour, which differentiates them from painters from other parts of Latin America. Undoubtedly, Vasquez stands out among them all for his mastery of drawing and balanced composition. With the training he received in the Figueroas' workshop and the skills he acquired through the continuous exercise of his work, he consolidated his own characteristic style". The importance of Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos in the panorama of viceregal art is undeniable. Despite having produced a vast amount of paintings, his technical skill and the spiritual depth of his paintings continue to be admired and studied by scholars, collectors and museums around the world. The artist, of whom many biographies have been written, such as those by José Manuel Groot, Alberto Urdaneta and Roberto Pizano, has a large body of work that can still be found today in churches, convents and museums such as the Museo de Arte Colonial de Bogotá, which houses numerous canvases, some miniatures, and one hundred and five drawings: the largest collection of the painter's work. Reference bibliography: - Fajardo, Marta (2014). European engravings and painting in the New Kingdom of Granada. "HiSTOReLo" Vol. 6, No. 11, 68-125. - Fajardo, Marta (n.d.). "Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos". Royal Academy of History. https://dbe.rah.es/biografias/21372/gregorio-vasquez-de-arce-y-ceballos - Sebastián, Santiago (1985). Gregorio Vásquez: the life and work of the most important painter of the New Kingdom of Granada'.