Valencian school. Beginning of the 20th century.

Valencian school. Early twentieth century.
"Our Lady of the Assumption.
In carved wood, stewed and polychrome. With gilded crown.
In good state of preservation.
Measurements: 80 x 37 x 30 cm (with base).

The image of Our Lady of the Assumption represented in this sculpture of the early twentieth century is an emblematic example of devotional art that flourished in the Valencian region in the transition between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is a work elaborated with the traditional technique of polychrome wood carving, combined with gilding and estofado, characteristic resources of the imagery of baroque roots that, despite the advance of modern languages, remained in force in the workshops dedicated to sacred art during this period. The body of the image, covered by an ample stewed mantle, is enriched with a complex ornamental repertoire of vegetal and geometric motifs that refer directly to the baroque aesthetics reinterpreted from a historicist taste. The delicacy of the features of the face, the softness of the polychromy and the praying attitude of the Virgin reveal a sensibility typical of the religious academicism still dominant in the Spanish sculptural field.

The gilded imperial crown, surrounded by a circular burst studded with stars, accentuates the glorious reading of the Assumptionist invocation. The Virgin appears elevated, enveloped in light and majesty, visually reinforcing the theological idea of her assumption to heaven. At her feet, two child angels flank the figure, an iconographic resource that links with the iconographic tradition of the Misteri d'Elx, a medieval sacred-lyrical drama closely linked to the cultural and religious identity of the city. These small angels, modeled with rounded shapes and soft polychrome, bring dynamism and tenderness to the composition, while anchoring the work in an imaginary deeply rooted in the devotion of Elche.

The inscription on the base reaffirms the link of the piece with the Elche devotion of Our Lady of the Assumption, patron saint of the city and central figure of the Misteri. At the beginning of the 20th century, after a period of religious renewal and strengthening of the Marian cult, it was common for parishes and individuals to commission new images for processions, oratories or domestic devotions. The sculptures created at this time sought to maintain the aesthetic continuity with the Valencian Baroque, considered the most appropriate language to express the solemnity, splendor and theatricality of the Mediterranean sacred tradition. For this reason, this work harmoniously combines the technical refinement inherited from previous centuries with the aesthetic criteria of academicism, generating a balanced ensemble fully in keeping with the taste of its time.

Through its iconography, ornamentation and technical workmanship, the piece not only testifies to the survival of traditional religious art in the first decades of the twentieth century, but also functions as a material symbol of the spiritual identity of Elche. It represents a living continuity between popular devotion, historical imagery and the liturgical needs of a community that, generation after generation, has maintained the link between the figure of the Assumption and its artistic expression. In this sense, the sculpture embodies both the historical legacy and the religious sentiment of a period in which tradition was reaffirmed as an essential value in the face of the profound social and cultural changes that were already beginning to be announced in modernity.