CLAUDIO COELLO (Madrid, 1642-1693)."Christ Served by Angels", 1661.Oil on canvas. Re-coloured.With important original period frame.With repainting.Work published in "Novedades sobre Claudio Coello, con algunas cuestiones iconográficas y compositivas", Ismael Gutiérrez Pastor, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teoría del Arte (U.A.M.) Vol. XV, 2003, p. 129.Signed and dated in the lower right area.Measurements: 188 x 146 cm; 210 x 167 cm (frame).This is a splendid work by Claudio Coello, an outstanding representative of the full Madrid Baroque. It was painted when he was only 19 years old, making it the oldest known work by the artist. It is a markedly scenographic and Eucharistic composition, featuring the figure of Christ, located on the right, who brings his hand close to the Sacred Form. The latter is given to the Redeemer by a group of winged angels, executed with delicate, monumental and theatrical mastery. The scene is enveloped in a luminous atmosphere of golden clouds which, together with the bluish and reddish tones, speaks of the influence exerted on the artist by Venetian painting. The theatrical and monumental setting reflects how the Redeemer instituted the Eucharist to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries, until his return, and to nourish our souls for eternal life. This work shows how Coello masterfully exemplified Baroque painting at the end of the 17th century, a merit that earned him the appointment of painter to the Chamber of King Charles II, the highest title to which a painter could aspire at that time.Trained under Francisco Rizi, Claudio Coello was appointed painter to King Charles II in 1683. After his first works in 1660, such as Jesús Niño a la puerta del Templo ("Infant Jesus at the Door of the Temple" (Museo del Prado), Coello incorporated architectural backgrounds in perspective and fluttering angels, elements that would become an identifying feature of his painting. In 1664 he studied the paintings in the royal collection and in the monastery of El Escorial, developing works such as "Apóstol San Felipe" and the paintings for the Convent of San Plácido (Madrid). Between 1669 and 1674, easel paintings became scarce in Coello's production, and in their place he executed fresco paintings and paintings of ephemeral architectures, always with a great sense of scenography. Between 1675 and 1679 Coello produced large altar canvases, such as "Saint Ignatius of Loyola", located in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Madrid) and "The Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene", kept in the church of Santa María Magdalena in Ciempozuelos (Madrid). He was appointed painter to the king in 1683 due to the vacancy left by the Baroque painter Dionisio Mantuano, producing the work "Santa Catalina de Alejandría", becoming chamber painter in 1685 after the death of Carreño de Miranda, producing at this time the "Adoración de la Sagrada Forma", a work in which he combined models and colours by Guido Reni. Among the works he produced, the portrait of Doña Teresa Francisca Mudarra around 1690 stands out, which shares stylistic characteristics with the present work, not only because of the firm posture and palatial setting, but also because of the fashion in which both sitters are dressed, although Coello's technique in the portrait of Doña Teresa Francisca Mudarra is much more elaborate, as a result of the aforementioned sketchy nature of the present work. In his last years he worked on works for churches and convents outside Madrid and was appointed painter to Toledo cathedral in 1691.