Spanish school; 18th century and later.

Spanish School; XVIII century and later.
"Apparition of the Virgin to St. James the Apostle" and "St. Francis" (Triptych).
Oil on polychrome and gilded wood.
It has slight flaws in the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 103 x 68 cm.
This work represents a scene deeply rooted in the Christian iconography: the appearance of the Virgin Mary to the apostle Santiago, known as the Virgin of Pilar. The work, conceived as part of a small altarpiece or devotional piece of furniture, is designed to be closed by decorated doors, which when opened reveal a second pictorial register, in this case, a triptych in which St. Francis appears as the central figure, accompanied by other devotional images.
In the exterior scene, of great symbolic charge, we observe Santiago in an attitude of veneration, directing his gaze towards the Virgin with the Child in his arms, both enthroned on clouds, accompanied by an angel holding the traditional column or pillar. The composition follows a vertical structure that hierarchizes the space: the earthly in the lower part -the tiled floor and the pilgrim apostle- and the heavenly in the upper part, where the divine figures are placed. The richly carved and gilded frame, with baroque forms and dynamic movement, enhances the sacred function of the object.
The use of religious furniture such as this, especially in domestic devotional practice or in private chapels, was of enormous importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. These pieces not only allowed for an exercise of intimate piety, but also functioned as pedagogical elements, helping to transmit the main dogmas and stories of Christianity through an accessible and emotional visual language.