Luis de Morales "The Divine" (Badajoz c. 1510 - 1586) - Ecce Homo

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GRAND SPRING AUCTION | OLD MASTERS AND PRIVAT...

By Templum Fine Art Auctions

Apr 15, 2026

Set Reminder 2026-04-15 09:00:00 2026-04-15 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : GRAND SPRING AUCTION | OLD MASTERS AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/templum-fine-art-auctions/grand-spring-auction-old-masters-and-private-collections-22912
AUCTION · 15 APRIL · 3:00 PM EXHIBITION OPEN FROM 26 MARCH OPENING HOURS Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM Templum Fine Art Auctions info@templumauctions.com

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• Lot Description
  Oil on panel. Dimensions: 52 × 34 cm (unframed). We would like to thank Isabel Mateo for her assistance in cataloging this work. Luis de Morales, also known as "El Divino Morales," is considered by his early biographers to be a unique painter within the Spanish pictorial scene of the second half of the 16th century. All authors agree that he was more of a creator of small paintings for private devotion than an altarpiece painter, especially with Passion themes and a wide variety of iconography. His clientele was significant not only in quantity but also in social standing, allowing Morales to found a high-quality workshop to respond to the numerous commissions he received. In this case, we are dealing with an unpublished work by the artist, in which the figure of Jesus appears against a dark, neutral background, dressed in a red cloak, crowned by light rays of gold very similar to those used by Jan Heemsen. He wears a scarlet mantle tied at the right shoulder, its folds marked with fine white brushstrokes and sharp edges. In his left hand, he holds a reed scepter—perhaps a symbol of mockery in the Praetorium—and his right hand remains attached to his body by a rope, a gesture charged with tension. Only two thorns stick into his forehead, from which discreet drops of blood fall, barely visible against his complexion. His face, tilted slightly to the right, has one eye lower than the other; his mouth, half-open, reveals his teeth; and his straight nose almost meets his eyebrows. His ear stands out among the fine hair, a detail Morales emphasized repeatedly. The attribution to Morales is based on the parallelism with other Ecce Homo paintings that share, for example, the parallel-painted eyelashes and discreet tears—like the example sold at Christie's on May 21, 2025—the sculptural treatment of the musculature, and the soft glazes on the cloak. Likewise, the inclination of the head and the melancholic expressiveness recall the versions auctioned at Sotheby's ...
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