Ecuador, 18th century

Christ as the Good Shepherd Communing with a Lamb
36 2/3 x 24 inches (93 x 61 cm); framed size 40 ½  x 28 ¾ inches

Though some Quiteño painters still held to a tenebrist, heavily-shadowed palette, a distinctive and brightly-colored eighteenth-century palette became pervasive in Quito, as well as a predilection for delicate figures, like those of this Christ and the Lamb of God.

Note the careful positioning of Christ’s hands and his crossed feet, and the way that he cradles the front leg of the lamb, as the rest of the flock makes its way to the door to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The mouths of the Lamb and of the Satan-wolf are both open; the Lamb welcomes bliss, and eternal life, but the wolf is vanquished by the jagged, red bolt of lightning from Heaven. 

There is another version of this composition designated as by Manuel Samaniego (who lived from 1767-1824; in the collection of the Banco Central, Quito). Another composition by Manuel Samaniego depicts the Lamb of God under greater threat from Satan (as a dog) also in the collection of the Banco Central.