Workshop of BLAS DE LEDESMA (Documented in Granada between 1602 and 1614); first half of the 17th century. "Still life". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. It presents repainting and damages. Measurements: 77 x 105,5 cm; 91 x 121,5 cm (frame). Baroque still life of symmetrical composition, which stands out for the abundance of food and animals that are presented on the table. The elements are arranged at various heights, creating a complex yet highly visual image. The still life in Spain was one of the most characteristic genres and, due to its special characteristics, is clearly differentiated from the same subject in workshops in the rest of Europe. The term appeared at the end of the 16th century, and stands out in this school for its austerity, in clear contrast to Flemish sumptuousness, although with a series of influences from the latter and the Italian school. Sánchez Cotán`s works were so successful that his style had numerous followers (Juan de Espinosa, Antonio Ponce, Juan van der Hamen y León, etc.). In this context, the Sevillian school contributed its own particularities, thanks above all to Velázquez and Zurbarán. Blas de Ledesma was one of the first Spanish artists to cultivate the still life. Although he is a very poorly documented artist, of whom only one signed work survives, we do know that in 1602 he was in Granada, working with Pedro de Raxis on the paintings for the dome crowning the imperial staircase of the Monastery of Santa Cruz la Real. In fact, Pacheco praises him as a mural painter in his "Arte de la Pintura", and cites him, together with Pedro de Raxis and Antonio Mohedano, as a follower of Giulio Aquili and Alejandro Mayner, who introduced the grotesques into the Alhambra Palace. In 1614 he is again documented in Granada, drawing a plaster vault for the Sala de los Mocárabes in the Alhambra. He is also mentioned as working in the cathedral with Miguel Cano. We know nothing more about his life until January 1616, when the Corpus Christi Brotherhood, to which he belonged, celebrated a Mass for his soul, from which we can deduce that he must have died at the end of 1615 or early the following year. We also know, however, that he was recognised as a painter of fruit bowls, as attested by Pedro Soto de Rojas, who dedicated verses to him comparing him to Zeuxis in his "Paraíso cerrado para muchos, jardines abiertos para pocos" ("Paradise closed to many, gardens open to few") of 1652. To date we know of only one work signed by him that can be safely attributed to him, the "Still Life of Cherries" in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta (USA). It is a still life which is evidence of the knowledge of Juan Sánchez Cotán (present in Granada from 1604), characterised by a rigorously geometric composition, with the objects on a table in front of a black background, meticulously worked in great detail.