17th century French school. "The Birth of the Virgin. Oil on copper. Size: 71 x 89 cm; 86 x 103 cm (frame).

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Oct 20, 2021

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• Lot Description
  17th century French school. "The Birth of the Virgin. Oil on copper. Size: 71 x 89 cm; 86 x 103 cm (frame). The subject of the Nativity of Mary was frequently represented in art, as part of the cycles of the Life of the Virgin. These depictions, both medieval and later, are often valuable documents providing information about the domestic interiors and customs of their time. The cycle of the Life of the Virgin spread during the Middle Ages, basing its iconography on the Gospels and, above all, on the apocrypha contained in the "Golden Legend" of Santiago de la Voragine. Anne and Joachim, Mary's parents, had been married for many years without conceiving children. In order for her conception to be immaculate, i.e. without the lust of original sin, it took place when the spouses embraced at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. According to the text, this is how Saint Anne became pregnant and, nine months later, gave birth to the Virgin Mary. The birth of Mary is traditionally depicted as we see it here, as a genre scene set in an interior of the period. In this copper panel, Saint Anne is depicted in the background, in bed, resting after giving birth, and the newborn child is in the foreground, occupying the centre of the painting. She is in the arms of a servant girl, who carries her out of the bath with the help of a second woman. Behind them we see a third woman drying the linen by the fire of a large fireplace. Finally, a fourth servant girl stands with her back to us, attending to Saint Anne, offering her food to help her regain her strength after childbirth. While in the 17th century the demand for religious art for churches radically ceased in the northern provinces of what is now Holland, in Flanders a monumental art in the service of the Catholic Church flourished, partly due to the necessary restoration of the ravages that the wars had caused in churches and convents. As a result, the religious art of the Baroque period in the Flemish school was characterised by its triumphal character, its markedly scenographic compositions (largely derived from Rubens), its dynamism and its enormous expressive power. Alongside these triumphal images there would be large series on the life of Christ, the Virgin and the saints, as well as other themes, principally religious allegories. This type of series would show a more restrained language, equally narrative but closer to the bourgeois aesthetic, following the naturalistic taste of Baroque painting.
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