Italian school; 18th century.

Italian school; 18th century.
‘Madonna and Child with Franciscan Saint’.
Oil on canvas.
It has folds on the canvas, faults on the pictorial surface and restorations.
Measurements: 45 x 35 cm.

This canvas presents a scene typical of the Baroque period, which clearly represents the triumphal image that the Catholic Church intended to convey through art after the Counter-Reformation. The scene shows the Virgin and Child in her arms. It is an openly scenographic composition, marked by the dynamic diagonal lines so typical of the full Baroque, which are here defined by the head of the Franciscan saint who guides our gaze directly towards the figures of Mary and Jesus. The latter appear seated on a large cloud that lends greater theatricality to the scene, while at the same time serving to clarify the spatial construction.
The overall warmth is further enhanced by the preeminence of large areas in highly nuanced and balanced shades of crimson, ochre and orange, with elements of cool tones, mainly blue, dotted throughout. Another typically Baroque feature is the profusion and variety of gestures, expressions and postures, which establish a dialogue and a clear narrative rhythm in the scene, which finally converge in the figures of the Child and the Virgin.