Title

The Holy Family

Ducete, Sebastián [attributed to] (Toro, 1568 - ?, 1619)

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Object history

According to Vasallo Toranzo (2004) this sculpture was made in the first stage of Sebastián Ducete, when his compositions were still anchored in mannerism. During his first creative stage Ducete carried out numerous sculptures in Toro (Zamora), therefore, it is possible that this piece came from a church or convent in Toro. It is unknown when it left its original location, but it was acquired by Enrique Larreta around 1912, who believed that the work was by Juni. In fact, Larreta had placed a plaque under the piece with the Frenchman's name (Nobilia, 2018). The diplomat had settled with his family in the mansion at 49 Rue de la Faisanderie (Paris) in 1911 (Losada, 2008). Larreta was a great collector of Spanish art and had set up a Spanish Salon in his residence where he housed the pieces he had acquired during his stay in Spain and France (1910-1916).

The journalist Javier Bueno visited the mansion in 1912 and described it as follows:

"[...] it is a room richly furnished with noble Castilian furniture. Friar armchairs of red velvet and Cordoba leather surround the embossed copper brazier. On one wall, the altarpiece of the Holy Family, an admirable jewel of Spanish religious statuary, and on the front, on either side of a door that opens onto another room decorated with the less austere taste of a French style, two Castilian varnish boxes that one day must have held in their drawers the jewels of Doña Inés, Doña Elvira or Doña Beatriz and the noble executories that Don Santiago, Don Gil or Don Ramiro won by slaying infidels in the Holy Crusade".

According to Bueno (1912), the altarpiece of the Holy Family was in Larreta's residence in 1912, so it is believed that he may have acquired it at that time. Among the documentation that has been preserved of Larreta's purchases, the names of some Spanish antique dealers, such as Juan Lafora Calatayud and José de Arteche, stand out.

In 1916 Larreta decided to leave Paris and return to Argentina; moreover, he arranged for his collection to be transported by steamship (Nobilia, 2018). This is recorded in the telegram he sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: "With reference to my telegram number 39 of August 15, I have the honor to communicate V.E. I have sent by steamer Latouche Treville on the 19th of this month one hundred and forty crates containing part of my furniture. The rest will leave on September 2 and 16 next. I request of Your Excellency, according to diplomatic regulations, customs exemption. Larreta" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Box 1603, Folder 60, ARECC).

He placed his collection in his residence in Belgrano (Buenos Aires), placing this relief over the fireplace in the central hall. Larreta died in 1961 and his heirs decided to sell his mansion and part of the collection to the Municipality. Today the Enrique Larreta Museum of Spanish Art is located in the diplomat's residence, where the relief of the Holy Family by Sebastián Ducete is kept.

Information provided by Luis Vasallo Toranzo (University of Valladolid).

Description

This high relief represents the Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist as a child. It is evident the mastery that Ducete had in the handling of the gouge, a characteristic that allowed him to represent very naturalistic faces, something that can be appreciated in the figures (Vasallo, 2004). Precisely this naturalism evokes the way of working of Juan de Juni, surpassing even that of his master, Juan de Montejo. Originally the relief had a frame, however, after being moved to Buenos Aires, two columns were added to the sides to frame it (Nobilia, 2018).

Locations

• ca. 1600

  municipality

  Toro, Toro (Spain)

• ca. 1912 - 1916

  private collection

  Enrique Larreta. Paris, Paris (France) *

• ca. 1916 - ca. 1961

  private collection

  Enrique Larreta, Buenos Aires (Argentina) *

• ca. 1962 - present

  museum

  Museum of Spanish Art "Enrique Larreta", Buenos Aires (Argentina)