Chapel containing a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, 19th century

Chapel containing a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, 19th century.
Carved wood. Statue dressed with fabric and metal embellishments.
Measurements: 114 x 75 x 48 cm.

Provenance: Estate of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló.
Artistic and heritage collection originating in the legacy of Catalan painters Ramon Martí Alsina (1826–1894), a seminal figure of 19th-century Catalan Realism, and his son Ricard Martí Aguiló (1857–1935).

Passed down and enriched across successive generations, the collection brings together works from the original holdings of both artists alongside acquisitions made by their descendants. Dedicated to preserving and recovering the family legacy, the descendants actively reacquired works by the painters as they entered the market, progressively expanding the collection to encompass paintings, sculptures, archaeological artifacts, and other items of artistic and historical significance.
A 19th-century devotional chapel, designed as a small domestic altarpiece intended to house an image of the Immaculate Virgin. The structure, made of carved wood, features a classically inspired architectural composition, with two pairs of columns with smooth shafts and molded capitals flanking a central niche protected by a glass-paned door. The ensemble stands on a stepped base and is topped by an entablature with a pronounced cornice, crowned by small turned elements serving as pinnacles. The combination of woods in different shades and the contrast with the light-colored details of the capitals and bases accentuate the architectural and ornamental character of the piece.

Inside, there is a dressed statue of the Immaculate Virgin. She wears a golden-hued tunic and a wide mantle of light-colored fabric, both embellished with trimmings, embroidery, and decorative appliqués that enhance the solemnity of the depiction.

This type of chapel was widely found in homes and spaces for private devotion during the 19th century, especially within the Spanish Catholic tradition. Conceived as small domestic altars, they brought the solemnity of ecclesiastical altarpieces into the family setting, combining religious function with a carefully crafted ornamental dimension.