Juan Sánchez Cotán (1561-Sept 8, 1627) was a Carthusian monk and Spanish Baroque painter who specialized in bodegón paintings-a still life depicting pantry items. This form of painting was virtually unheard of in Spain until Cotán brought it to popularity with his depictions of various fruits, vegetables, and sometimes game fowl. The weight given to his still life paintings was reminiscent of religious altars. Pale melon flesh and rich leafy greens held contrast against the fictive inset window spaces he set them in. The stark white space around the food items gave them a mesmerizing cruciality. Did he see food as a substance worthy of worship? Some have hypothesized that he was preparing for and ruminating on the vegetarian diet he would adopt as a monk.
With the new title of Fray Juan Sánchez Cotán after taking his vows as a lay brother at the Carthusian Monastery of Granada, his focus shifted to depicting the persecution of his religious order by King Henry VIII. The series of four episodes were painted between 1615 and 1617 and show Carthusian monks being drawn and quartered, hanged, and imprisoned in chains. Although Cotán’s will mentions some sixty-odd paintings, the majority of them being religious, surprisingly, and just nine being still lifes, he had a habit of not signing his works, so not many pieces are accredited to him. A quick google search will show a spotty catalogue of his works. Nonetheless, Juan Sánchez Cotán was an eminent pioneer of the Baroque still life movement in Spain, and his work, although hard to find, is still remembered and appreciated presently.
Image Citations:
https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-images/70be4d2abd6f20917902ecc880b98fe65316876c.jpg
https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-images/367f6e77f515ae7d7ef4b210e938e08e788d1ac4.jpg
https://cdn.kastatic.org/ka-perseus-images/aada6d25e3e8cf647b3fbba1a401f359f8a79daf.jpg
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/still-life-with-game-vegetables-and-fruit/91dfc698-786f-4680-ad73-3841988e7f4d
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/wp-content/gallery/carthusian-monastery/carthusian_6.jpg
Information Citations:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-Sanchez-Cotan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Sánchez_Cotán
https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/artist/sanchez-cotan-juan/2b21c89b-3779-45fb-9edb-e08da8e80e59
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/the-carthusian-monastery-of-granada/nggallery/thumbnails