Mariano Salvador Maella Pérez
(Valencia, 1739 – Madrid, 1819)

The Apparition of Saint James to King Ramiro
Oil on canvas
37 x 95 cm.

Famous Rococo painter, Maella was painter at the Court of Charles IV. His work is vast in both portrait and in his fresco decorations. (Royal Palace of Madrid and Toledo Cloister among others)
This work, of which there are two other copies belonging to the Caja de Ahorros de Zaragoza and the Catalan Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, is probably a study for the vault painted by Maella in the Collegiata Church of San Ildefonso de la Granja in 1777.
In this case the aged varnish hid the characteristic color palette of Maella, which has been recovered after cleaning and varnishing the artwork.