Spanish or Italian school; second third of the 18th century. "Very pure conception." Oil on canvas.

About Auction

Live

Old Masters

By Setdart Auction House

Jun 30, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-06-30 08:30:00 2021-06-30 08:30:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Old Masters https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7134
Setdart Auction House sofia@setdart.com

View Full Catalog (93)

• Lot Description
  Spanish or Italian school; second third of the 18th century. "Very pure conception." Oil on canvas. It preserves the original canvas, presents restorations and a period frame. Measures: 85 x 63 cm; 128 x 80 cm (frame). In this work the viewer is presented with the figure of the Immaculate Virgin Mary standing erect in the center of the work, full-length and standing on a crescent moon. It is remarkable the majesty with which the Virgin is portrayed and the message it conveys to the viewer. Due to her monumentality, Mary is placed between the earthly and the heavenly. Framing her face in the center of a great break of glory, and her feet in a landscape that represents the mundane. Medieval Christianity passionately debated the belief that Mary had been conceived without stain of original sin. Some universities and corporations vowed to defend this privilege of the Mother of God, several centuries before the First Vatican Council defined the dogma of faith in 1854. At the end of the Middle Ages the need to give iconographic form to this idea was born, and the model of the Apocalyptic Woman of St. John was taken, maintaining some elements and modifying others (the Apocalyptic Woman is pregnant, but not the Immaculate). The definitive image came to fruition in the 16th century, apparently in Spain. Following a Valencian tradition, the Jesuit Father Alberro had a vision of the Immaculate Conception and described it to the painter Juan de Juanes so that he could capture it as faithfully as possible. It is an evolved iconographic concept, sometimes associated with the theme of the Coronation of the Virgin. Mary appears standing, dressed in a white tunic and blue mantle, her hands crossed on her chest, with the moon at her feet (in memory of Diana's chastity) and stepping on the infernal serpent (symbol of her victory over Original Sin). Around his head, like a halo, he wears the twelve stars, symbol of fullness and allusive to the twelve tribes of Israel. Most of these images are accompanied, in the painting, by the Marian symbols of the litanies and psalms, such as the mystical rose, the palm tree, the cypress, the closed orchard, the ark of Faith, the door of Heaven, the ivory tower, the sun and the moon, the sealed fountain, the cedar of Lebanon, the mirror without stain, the morning star, etc. In Baroque painting, the background is usually celestial and populated with angels, since the artists of the 17th century faithfully maintain the iconographic type but dispense with the symbols of the litanies or reduce them, incorporating them into the composition in a naturalistic way, and seek a greater dynamism and sense of theatricality.
• Shipping Info

  • In-house shipping available. Please inquire at admin@setdart.com.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 22.00 %