VIRGIN WITH CHILD. ALABASTER, WOOD. ATTRIBUTED TO GREGORIO PARDO. SPAIN, 16TH CENTURY.

Virgin and Child. Carved alabaster. Attributed to PARDO, Gregorio (1513-1552). A framed relief carved in alabaster (with a polychrome blue background) depicts the Virgin Mary accompanied by the Christ Child, with two angel heads at the top and three more at the bottom. Mary is dressed in a tunic and mantle with prominent folds and a distinctive undulating drape over her head. Iconographically, this is undoubtedly one of the most common themes in European Christian art since the Middle Ages. In Gothic art, Mary and her Son are depicted with affection, visually reflecting important theological concepts. One example is the icon of the Madonna del Popolo, widely known for being attributed to Saint Luke. It was brought to the church of the same name by Gregory IX from the Sancta Sanctorum of the Lateran Palace after a flood caused a terrible plague in the city, and carried in a solemn procession to Santa Maria del Popolo (Rome, Italy). Stylistically, this relief is clearly related to a series of works produced mainly in the Burgos area during the 16th century, with a clear Italian (particularly Florentine) influence. According to experts, this influence stems from Diego de Siloé's time in Italy before working in that Spanish city. The first is an alabaster relief with traces of polychromy by Diego de Siloé (circa 1490-1553), considered part of his Burgos production (circa 1519-1528), and is held in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (inventory 153-1879). The second is another alabaster relief of Mary and Child (Metropolitan Museum, inventory 31.33.7), considered to have been made following a model by Diego de Siloé or Felipe Vigarni Bigarny (c. 1475-1542), between 1520 and 1530. The third and most similar relief (studied in R. Coppel, From Father to Son: Two Alabaster Reliefs of the Madonna and Child by Felipe Bigarny and Gregorio Pardo, Jaime Eguiguren Studies, III, Argentina, 2018) is attributed to Felipe Bigarny's son, Gregorio Pardo (1513-1552), depicting Mary and the Child on a winged angel's head within an oval, with additional angel heads at the corners of the alabaster plaque, which still retains traces of gilding. A similar relief is known, also showing Mary and Jesus on a winged angel's head within an octagonal frame (private collection); and another framed example, considered to date from around 1540 and attributed to Gregorio Pardo, is in the Diocesan and Cathedral Museum of Valladolid. Gregorio Bigarny or Gregorio Pardo (Burgos, c. 1513-Toledo, in or before 1556) was a Spanish sculptor and woodcarver, a disciple of Damián Forment and married to the daughter of the architect Alonso de Covarrubias. He worked in Huesca Cathedral, Madrid (relief of the Assumption of the Virgin for the Convent of Santo Domingo el Real, now in the National Archaeological Museum, inventory 50244), Toledo Cathedral, etc. In addition to those already mentioned, his work is held in the Museum of Burgos, a relief attributed to him in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid, Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady), Cuenca (San Bartolomé de Belmonte), etc., detectedSourceLanguage: es

· Size: 33x5x43,5 cms. int: 22,5x32,5 cms.