Abstract: This article discusses the relationship between the nascent art of still life painting in Spain and its connections to visual sophisms recurrent in religious literature. It focuses primarily on the still life paintings of the Toledan artist Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627). He is the creator of the first Spanish rendition of these secular artworks which were originally imported to the Iberian Peninsula from Northern Europe. The aim is to explain why his preference for austere compositions, and his achievement of trompe l’oeil in his works aligned with visual cues found in the religious rhetoric of that time.
Resumen: Este artículo plantea la relación entre la pintura de naturaleza muerta en España y el empleo de sofismos en la literatura religiosa. El texto se enfoca primordialmente en los bodegones del artista toledano Juan Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627), creador de la primera interpretación española de cuadros de naturaleza muerta, un arte secular originalmente importado desde el norte de Europa. El propósito del artíulo es explicar su preferencia por una composición sobria y cómo el efecto de trampantojo se relaciona con la retórica religiosa contemporánea.