Late Gothic altarpiece. Catalonia, ca. 1500

Late Gothic altarpiece. Catalonia, ca. 1500.
"Scenes from the life of the Virgin.
Carved and polychromed wood.
It has some lack of polychromy and some flaws in the wood.
Measurements: 109 x 83,5 x 8 cm.
In spite of its late date, when Italy was immersed in the Renaissance Cinquecento, the altarpiece shown here belongs mainly to Gothic art, which had an important and long-lasting development in Catalonia. It is presided over by a central panel with the image of the Virgin and Child Jesus surrounded by seraphim and, prostrate at their feet, Saint Francis and the donor (the figure of the commissioner of the altarpiece). The richness of the narrative is evident in each of the panels around the central scene. The figures are endowed with volumetric and expressive strength. The predella brings together various episodes from The Passion: the Ecce Homo, the meeting of Jesus with Veronica, the Descent from the Cross, etc. In the upper part and on the sides we can distinguish biblical passages referring to the Virgin: from her birth and the Annunciation of the archangel Gabriel to the Ascension and the Marian Coronation.