Spanish school of the first half of the 18th century.
"Virgin.
Oil on canvas. Re-drawn.
It presents restorations.
Measurements: 55 x 44 cm.
Devotional work that presents us the Virgin Mary in the bust, in the foreground and captured in a great size, occupying most of the pictorial surface and even going out of it. It is a monumental figure, worked with great delicacy and directly illuminated by a clear, uniform, classical light. Mary stands out against a neutral, flat, dark background, illuminated around her face by the luminosity of her pearly skin. The Virgin is dressed in a red tunic, alluding to the Passion of Christ and her own grief at the death of her Son, and a blue cloak, common in Marian iconography as a symbol of the concepts of truth and eternity. As a symbol of compassion and humility, Mary holds her hands to her breast. This is an image of great beauty, in which an idealised but naturalistic face stands out, with large, expressive, deep-set eyes, drooping eyelids, a long, elegant nose and a small mouth, puckered into a smile.
Formally, this work is dominated by the influence of the Roman-Bolognese classicism of Guido Reni, who was undoubtedly the best of the three. Closely linked to the Carracci family and to the city of Bologna, they all had a similar career. They trained in Bologna with Denys Calvaert, and then went to the Accademia degli Incamminati, directed by Ludovico Carraci. In 1600 Reni arrived in Rome, where he worked with Annibale Carracci in the Galleria Farnese. His best period began in these years; in 1609, on Annibale's death, Reni became the head of the classicist school. In the city he was the protégé of Scipione Borghese, the future Pope Paul V, for whom the painter produced one of his most important works, "La Aurora" (Palazzo Rospigliosi). It reveals something that would always be characteristic of Reni's style, his admiration for ancient sculpture. Starting from classical statues, he developed an ideal of beauty and perfection that would be greatly admired by subsequent painters. In 1614 he returned to Bologna for good. Reni's style evolved in a clear direction, becoming more and more sculptural and cold, more and more fully classicist. His mature work was characterised by a cold, silvery palette. Finally, from the 1930s onwards, his style became sketchy, with an unfinished appearance and a tendency towards monochrome, of great interest from a technical as well as a formal point of view.Guido Reni is currently represented in the most important art galleries all over the world, including the Prado Museum, the Hermitage, the Louvre, etc.