Attributed to CORRADO GIAQUINTO (Italy, 1703 - 1765/66).
"Saint Mary of the Head.
Oil on canvas. Re-coloured.
It presents faults and repainting. Needs cleaning.
Measurements: 55 x 34 cm.
In this religious scene, a saint is placed in the centre of a break of glory, starred by numerous angels, who accompany and support the saint. From her clothing and the attribute she holds in her hand, it is possible that this is a representation of Maria Toribia, a Spanish peasant girl, canonised by the Roman Catholic Church and known as Santa Maria de la Cabeza (Saint Mary of the Head). The work follows the same precepts as one of the four frescoes on the pendentives of the dome of the Royal Chapel of the Royal Palace in Madrid, paired with that of her husband Saint Isidore. It is therefore probable that this work belongs to the preparatory work, being earlier than other sketches kept in the Casita del Príncipe.
The date of birth of Santa María de la Cabeza is unknown, but it was sometime around the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th century. The saint lived in Madrid, where she met and married Isidro, a simple peasant from Madrid (who, according to some sources, had fled there as a result of the Almoravid invasion). According to legend, one day their son fell into a deep well, leaving the parents with no recourse but prayer. Miraculously, the water level suddenly rose to ground level, and the baby was easily rescued unharmed. As a result, she and her husband committed themselves to sexual abstinence as a form of devotion.
Due to its formal characteristics, the present work is attributed to Corrado Giaquinto, an Italian painter of the mid-18th century who is considered to be the leading representative of Rococo painting in Rome at the time. Due to his compositional mastery and masterful use of colour, the Italian artist became a point of reference for several generations of Spanish painters. The leading representative of Rococo painting in Rome in the first half of the 18th century, Giaquinto's work was a point of reference for several generations of Spanish painters. Appointed painter to Ferdinand VI in 1753 and until 1762, he was also artistic director of the Royal Tapestry Factory of Santa Barbara and director general of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. His language, which began with rococo and evolved in an increasingly classical direction, is characterised by a great sense of scenography and chromatic subtleties of extraordinary beauty. These two features are clearly evident here; the composition is totally theatrical, with the clarity of classicism combined with the elegant and graceful dynamism of rococo. The stage is organised in depth, playing with the position of the cumulus clouds and seeking a naturalistic representation of the space, with a sense of scenography inherited from the Baroque period. Giaquinto's was a classically influenced rococo, and his works would increasingly denote a more solid classicism: compositions of greater spatial clarity, as we see here, populated by solemn figures with lively gestures.