Flemish school; second third of the 17th century.
"Parable of the Virgins".
Oil on copper.
Size: 74 x 74 cm; 110 x 110 cm (frame).
This scene represents the Parable of the Prudent and Foolish Virgins or Parable of the ten bridesmaids, it is one of the parables of Jesus. According to Matthew 25:1-13, virgins are waiting for the bridegroom; five have brought enough oil for their lamps to wait, while the other five have run out of oil. The five virgins who are prepared for the bridegroom's arrival are rewarded, while the five who went to buy more oil miss the bridegroom's arrival and are disowned. The parable has a clear eschatological theme: prepare for the Day of Judgement. The image presents us with the young women in the foreground around a jar of wine in which we can see the figure of the four evangelists and from which no wine flows but water, symbol of purity. The young women are protected by the Dove of the Holy Spirit.

Formally, the scene belongs to the Flemish school and therefore follows classical rules, the first of which is its high technical quality. The drawing is rigorous and firm, with great anatomical perfection. It is a painting with a great symbolic sense that allows us to read it in two ways, symbolically and realistically. There is an importance for detail, with a meticulous description of the objects, nothing escapes the painter's eye, they tend to have many details, refinement is also abandoned, real beings appear without idealistic intention. During the 17th century there were many painters who continued the style of the Flemish primitives, but others were so open to Renaissance influences that they even stopped painting on panel. In fact, this 17th-century trend can be seen in these works, since, while retaining the detail and verism of the Flemish school, the artist opted for a tenebrist lighting and a classical spatial conception typical of the Italian school.