VIRGIN WOMAN WITH CHILD, 17TH TO 18TH CENTURIES

Spanish school of the late 17th – early 18th century. “Virgin with Child”. Carved and polychrome wood. A devotional image carved in the round and polychromed, belonging to the late Spanish Baroque period. It is a monumental sculpture with large, monolithic figures, their volumes emphasized by the voluminous folds of Mary's robe. The Virgin stands holding the Child in her lap, in a naturalistic pose, full of movement. To balance the Child's weight, Mary leans back, while Jesus leans forward, thus balancing the composition. The Child raises his right hand in blessing, while his other hand rests on a sphere, a symbol of the universality of Christian doctrine and Christ's redemptive act. Spanish Baroque sculpture is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and the deepest feelings that resided within them. With the state economy broken, the nobility in decline, and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, parishes, and confraternities of clergy and laity that drove its development, with works sometimes financed through public subscription. Sculpture was thus compelled to embody the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when Counter-Reformation doctrine demanded that art employ a realistic language so that the faithful could understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression imbued with intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. Religious subjects are therefore the preferred theme of Spanish sculpture of this period, which in the first decades of the century started with a priority interest in capturing nature, gradually intensifying throughout the century the expression of expressive values, which it achieves through movement and the variety of gestures, the use of light resources and the representation of moods and feelings.

· Size: 32x26x70 cms.