Novo-Hispanic school, second half of the 18th century. Circle of JOSÉ DE PÃEZ (Mexico, 1727 - 1780).
"Dolorosa".
Oil on copper.
Measurements: 35 x 28 cm; 47 x 40 cm (frame).
The painter has represented Mary almost half-length, wearing a red tunic and completely covered by a blue mantle, her characteristic colours. The figure of the Virgin is set against a neutral, dark background, which helps to highlight the most illuminated area of the painting, the ivory flesh tones of the face and hands. Mary has a pained but serene expression and clasps her hands together in a gesture of grief. On her breast a sword can be seen symbolically piercing her, an element that recalls the pain that pierced her heart at the moment of Christ's death. Both the attitude and this last attribute allow us to classify her as a Virgin of Sorrow, a common typology in art since the end of the Middle Ages, which was highly appreciated in the Baroque period. Skilful glazes describe the transparency of the tears and the delicacy of the drapery. Stylistically, the typology corresponds to the colonial art that developed in Mexico in the 17th and 18th centuries.