VIRGIN WOMAN WITH CHILD, 17TH TO 18TH CENTURIES

Spanish school from the late 17th – early 18th centuries. “Virgin with Child.” Carved and polychrome wood. Devotional image carved in wood in a round and polychrome shape, framed within the late Spanish Baroque. It is a sculpture of monumental conception, with large, monolithic figures, with volumes enhanced through the pompous folds of Mary's tunic. The Virgin appears standing, holding the Child in her lap, in a naturalistic position, full of movement. Thus, we see how Mary, to compensate for the weight of the Child, leans her back backwards, while Jesus in turn leans forward, thus compensating the composition. The Child appears raising his right hand in a sign of blessing, while the other hand rests on a sphere, a symbol of the universality of Christian doctrine and the redemptive act of Christ. 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's economy broken, the nobility in decline and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, parishes and brotherhoods of clerics and laymen that promoted its development, the works sometimes being paid for by popular subscription. Sculpture was thus forced to capture the ideals prevailing in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when the counter-reformation doctrine required art to use a realistic language so that the faithful could understand and identify with what was represented. and an expression endowed with intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. The religious issue is, therefore, the preferred theme of Spanish sculpture of this period, which began in the first decades of the century with a priority interest in capturing nature, to progressively intensify throughout the century the expression of values. expressive, which is achieved through movement and the variety of gestures, the use of lighting resources and the representation of moods and feelings.

· Size: 32x26x70 cms.