Italian school; 18th century.

Italian school; 18th century.
"Madonna.
Oil on canvas.
It has a 19th century frame with faults.
Measurements: 42 x 36 cm; 55 x 49 cm (frame).
In this compassionate image, the Virgin is the protagonist of a devotional scene, which tries to awake the most tender feelings of the faithful, through the posture chosen by the author, the pastel colours and the composition. In the centre of the scene, the long bust of the Virgin is set against a neutral background of golden tones. The Virgin is holding her hands to her chest and tilting her face slightly upwards, probably directed towards the Archangel Gabriel, who is absent from the composition. The most remarkable thing about the representation of the Virgin is that she is making a gesture of wonder or satisfaction, as is usual in scenes of the Annunciation. It is possible that the Virgin and Gabriel were originally a pair of separate canvases intended to form a diptych. The Virgin is dressed, as is customary, in a Roman style, with a white tunic and blue cloak, colours that are highly iconographic, as they are associated with the Virgin's clothing and allude to truth and universality. The clothes have been treated with dynamic, naturalistic folds, with soft, undulating forms. With regard to the lighting, the piece features a spotlight that falls directly on Mary's face, a resource that is enhanced by the use of a light tone for the skin.
The Annunciation is an episode that has been widely represented throughout the history of Christian art, given that it is one of the main dogmas of the church, that of the Incarnation. It is also included in both the cycle of Christ's life and that of the Virgin's life, which gives it renewed meaning as a narrative episode. With regard to the theme alluding to the Virgin of the Annunciation, the iconographic tradition includes a more narrative scene in which the Archangel Gabriel appears to the Virgin to tell her that she is pregnant. The Virgin is normally situated behind an altar or table, where a book or white lilies, iconographic attributes associated with the Virgin, are usually placed. However, over the centuries the elements began to be reduced, as can be seen in important works that depict the same iconography of the Annunciation, based exclusively on the representation of the Virgin.