For decades the large-format paintingThe Wedding at Cana was considered to be by an unknown artist, but it is without doubt the work of of one of the Franckens, and was most probably painted in his youth by Frans Francken II, the Younger (1581-1642). He was steeped in the poetry of the Baroque, but was still highly influenced by the models and techniques of his father Frans Francken I, the Elder (1542-1616). It could even be the work of the latter, given the lack of ornamentation of the buildings and the severe Roman style of the faces of the two main figures on the left of the composition. These are Christ and The Virgin Mary, who also appear in other compositions by the father of the Francken dynasty. However the first hypothesis is more credible, given the unmistakable small faces of the secondary figures and their jet-black eyes, and the opulent display of sideboards, crockery and rich silver mugs of complex design displayed prominently in close-up.

The Franckens generally preferred small formats painted on board, but they also produced several large canvases such as this one. The most significant of them (dating from somewhat later than the work held by the Banco de España) are a series of paintings in Seville cathedral. Some of them show precisely this type of feasting based on a biblical theme, such as Balthasar's Feast, The Feast of Herod (each measuring 148 x 227 cm) and another take on The Wedding at Cana. The composition of the scene for the cathedral in Seville is completely different, with Christ standing and the onlookers spread more evenly around, but the form of the picture is very similar. This adds credence to its attribution: it can be assumed that the more monumental scale of the canvas at the Banco de España makes it an earlier work, from around 1600-1610, when the young Francken was between twenty and thirty years old and was still sticking more closely to the tenets of his father. Javier Portús writes that the work is also remarkably similar to others attributed to Francken the Younger on New Testament themes, such as those in the Augustine Museum in Toulouse, the El Salvador church in Dijon and Yale University Art Gallery.

Identifying him as the producer of this work considerably advances our knowledge of this prolific master artist. The inconsistent quality of the works attributed to him is probably due to the large number of apprentices that he had in his studio when he was at his peak.

Comments updated by Carlos Martín.

Alfonso Pérez Sánchez