Chastity

The iconographic plan designed by Paret for the decoration of the chapel of San Juan del Ramo is extraordinarily precise in describing the compositions, since it was intended to provide the commissioners with a faithful outline of the decorative project. As the artist pointed out at the end of the text, he did not deem it necessary to give further explanations insofar as the drawings he would send afterwards ‘shall better and more originally inform you’. In his letter from 5 September 1785, he additionally mentioned that he was open to any corrections from them. On 28 November of that year, he insisted on the information contained in an earlier letter that is only partially extant in which he stated that he had finished the preparatory drawings.

Paret’s description of the figures for the pendentives of the interior cupola stands out for both its clarity and succinctness. A comparison between the text written by the artist, the drawings and the paintings reveals that there are hardly any variations. Only in the case of Constancy and Chastity did Paret slightly modify the poses and the direction of the gazes: in the drawing, the former appears facing frontally, whereas in the painting, she looks to her right, where the lit altarpiece also appears. Consequently she is visually connected to Chastity, who is located on the opposite side of the arch and who now looks to her left, instead of looking to the cupid at her feet as she does in the drawing. These modifications should not be attributed to the commissioners, since during the restoration of Constancy, it was discovered that she was facing frontally at first, as in the presentation drawing. It is possible that Paret decided to alter her pose when he visualised her in her final location so as to reinforce her relationship with Chastity.

As with the drawings of The life of Saint John the Baptist (D003107 and D005983), these four are gridded in pencil (all with a similar grid in this case) indicating that they were transferred and enlarged onto another support at the same time. A detailed study of these and the two previous designs demonstrate the artist’s execution process and technique. First, he superficially sketched the composition outlines in black pencil, making those parts that were not subsequently drawn in pen visible and using black ink. The lines drawn in this latter instrument – which ends in a considerably sharp point – are extraordinarily precise, as there are no corrections or hesitations whatsoever.

Next, he applied the washes shaping the volumes and shadows and giving prominence to the whiteness of the paper to recreate the lights. These washes are diverse, usually with the same colour of ink: grey or brown – except for Chastity, which shows the use of a more yellowish ink – but in four different hues, from lightest to darkest, depending on the greater or lesser dissolution of the ink in water. Thus, Paret can be pictured with four shells – the containers described in Diderot’s Encyclopédie for containing ink washes – from which he took the diluted pigment, always applying the lightest first and overlapping layers until the darkest one was applied last. In those areas where the outline is undefined, namely the clouds, he only applied wash without any previous pen lines.

The provenance of these four drawings – to which Saint John preaching (D003107) must be added – is somewhat unclear. In the inventory of drawings ‘inlaid in wood’ in the Flemish storage room in the Prado in 1857, they are registered with the number 142: ‘Four idem idem [loose drawings] of Theological Virtues by unknown author, and of the same size and triangular shape. Height ten inches; width one and a half feet, id [in poor condition]’. The 1879 inventory of the Drawing Room attributes them to Paret: ‘65. Two figures alluding to Constancy and Chastity. A. [Author] L. Paret y Alcázar. Height 0.25 by 0.50 wide, with black frame and glass’ and ‘66. Two figures alluding to Evangelical Wisdom and Sanctity. A. [Author] L. Paret y Alcázar. Height 0.25 by 0.50 wide, with black frame and glass’. In addition to the attribution, there are other differences between the first and second inventories.

In the first inventory, the measurements (equivalent to 254 x 457 mm) corresponding to a strange landscape format that matches neither the current measurements nor those of the subsequent inventory. Its poor condition might have led to the sheets of paper being subsequently trimmed to fit the drawn part. As a result, they could be framed in pairs, as indicated in the inventory of 1879 and as they were reproduced in Gaya’s article in 1952; a set-up that before 1977 had been replaced by another one that was kept until 1992.

The provenance of these four drawings and that of Saint John preaching has always been registered simply as the Royal Collection. In the 1857 and 1879 inventories, they appear with the drawings that entered the Royal Museum of Paintings in 1839, originating from the Royal Studio of Pensioners that Vincente López installed in the Casa de Rebeque in 1815. The inventory of the works from the Royal Studio records ‘eleven drawings by Pared [sic] and other authors, very old’. This description is probably a reference to the poor condition of the drawings mentioned in the previous paragraphs. This set came from Pedro González de Sepúlveda, and according to his testament they were acquired in 1816 by Royal Order. This Mint engraver was acquainted with Paret, as evidenced by the ink formulas he recorded in his Diaries. It would not be unusual to think that he acquired the drawings at the auction held by the painter’s heiresses in 1803, which is known from Sepúlveda himself, as Alejandro Martínez points out.

Matilla, José Manuel, 'Luis Paret y Alcázar. La Castidad' En:. Paret, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2022, p.238-243 nº 71