Vicente López Portaña (Valencia, 1772 - Madrid, 1850) 'The Exaltation of the Eucharist' Oil on canvas. Signed. Accompanied by a period carved and gilt wooden frame. 91 x 67,5 cm.   Thanks to his extraordinary artistic gifts as a draughtsman and colorist, Vicente López Portaña, who signs our work, was appointed in 1803, at just over thirty years of age, Honorary Painter to the Chamber, and in 1815 First Painter to the Chamber of Ferdinand VII, replacing Mariano Salvador Maella, from whom he had learned so much and to whom he owed so many favors at Court and beyond. If his skill with the brush was evident, his compositions also represented a gradual step forward from the late Baroque models still prevailing at Court. And although the Valencian was primarily and fundamentally a portraitist, a great portraitist—the best of his century if we except Francisco de Goya—his religious subjects likewise show a mastery and ease clearly above the rest.   The Counter-Reformation movement promoted by the Council of Trent deployed, among other responses to Protestant theses, a forceful defense of the Eucharist, transubstantiation, and the real presence of Christ in Communion. The increase in expressions of devotion to the Eucharistic sacrament in the Baroque period was accompanied, in the strictly artistic sphere, by an abundant development of themes such as The Last Supper, the Communion of Saints, or directly the Exaltation or Apotheosis of the Eucharist, through which the Catholic Church would promote one of its most outstanding dogmas.   Our painting presents this last theme, with the Eucharist at the center of the composition, while it is venerated by a whole court of cherubim and seraphim arranged in concentric circles, flanked by three youthful angels who form and construct the angelic monstrance that adores the Eucharist. Upon the sacred Host converge enraptured gazes accompanied by gestures of adoration. This particular iconography, closely related to sacramental confraternities, is developed here with striking movement and visual richness. The warm, golden light radiating from the highest point at the center floods the scene. The luminosity gradually modulates as it expands and descends, defining forms as it goes, perfectly outlining the celestial figures and their faces and hair, with countless details. A daring chromatic range, present in greens, yellows, and salmon reds in the garments, gives each color a thousand and one nuances, widening that spectrum of light. It is not surprising that, given its dimensions and extreme quality, it may very probably have been painted as an altarpiece for a retable in Valencia or elsewhere in Spain, or for a sacramental confraternity, convent, or perhaps for a personal commission for private devotion.   Vicente López Portaña, born on 19 September 1772, began his artistic training as a disciple of the Franciscan Antonio de Villanueva at the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia. During this first stage he won, in 1789, the first-class prize with the canvas King Hezekiah Displaying His Riches, which enabled him to reach the capital. The following year he took first place in the competition of the Academy of San Fernando with the painting The Catholic Monarchs. From that moment on he began to absorb the academic teachings inherited from Mengs, fundamentally through Mariano Salvador Maella; from him he took the Baroque and colorist sense of composition and the taste for drawing. After his youthful period in Madrid, where experience allowed him to become a prestigious artist, in 1792 he decided to return to his native city, Valencia. For many years he received various commissions, especially religious paintings and murals for churches in Valencia, as well as portraits, monuments, and drawings for engraving. During the Peninsular War he was in Valencia and painted the portrait of Ferdinand VII wearing the habit of the Order of Charles III. Vicente López’s portrait style, respectful and objective toward his sitters, led Ferdinand VII to name him First Painter to the Chamber, requiring his return to Madrid. Owing to this prestigious appointment, he became the most sought-after painter among the aristocracy and upper bourgeoisie. In 1826 he produced his masterpiece, the portrait of The Painter Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, the most relevant and iconic work of his long career. Vicente López Portaña preserved his artistic talent throughout old age, producing portraits until the day of his death in Madrid on 22 July 1850.