The Communion
by LUCAS VELÁZQUEZ, Eugenio, Oil on copper, 27 x 40 cm
In the gloomy interior of a cave, a priest gives communion to a large number of faithful; in the foreground, two women saying the rosary, their heads covered, appear on the right of the composition, lit by a dramatic white light that silhouettes the figures and grants them a phantasmagoric appearance. Lucas executed this small copper plate swiftly, modelling featureless faces, using superimposed impastos and longer brushstrokes for the white shades in keeping with the formal characteristics of his work.
Although such small-format scenes are very frequent in the painter’s repertoire, the model is taken from Francisco de Goya, to whom Lucas would be especially devoted throughout his career.