Workshop of the Master of the Half-Figures (Documented in the second quarter of the 16th century).

Workshop of the Maestro de las Medias Figuras (Documented in the second quarter of the 16th century).
"Virgin and Child".
Oil on oak panel.
It has a XVI century frame in ebonized wood in Dutch style.
Presents faults in the frame.
Measurements: 44 x 32 cm; 79 x 68 cm (frame).
We see in this oil painting a devotional image that presents us a young Virgin Mary of half body, in the foreground, holding the Child. Jesus with a spontaneous gesture caresses the face of his mother, following the model of the painting made by the Master of the Half Figures that is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Seville (CE0047P). Although it should be noted that, in this case the author focuses his attention only on the figures, which are inscribed in absolute darkness, while in the model of the Sevillian Museum a small still life is observed on the left side.
An anonymous painter active in the second quarter of the 16th century, the Maestro de las Medias Figuras is named after a large collection of paintings with a similar composition: a half-length female figure appearing in a bourgeois interior, reading, writing or playing an instrument. These ladies show great similarities in their faces, which highlights the fact that they are portraits. It could have been the same model used in all the compositions, or the same stereotyped ideal repeated. Historians have successively related him to Lucas de Heere, Hans Vereycke and the Frenchman Jean Clouet, although his identity is still disputed. On the other hand, it has been suggested that the series of female half-figures may have been made in a workshop in Antwerp, destined for export.
On the other hand, religious and mythological scenes are also attributed to him, with a language that denotes the influence of the Bruges school in the sweetness of the models, especially Adriaen Isenbrandt and Ambrosius Bensos, in addition to the landscapes of Joachim Patinir. His work has also been related to the French-influenced courts of Mechelen and Brussels. Works by this master are currently preserved in the Prado Museum, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the National Gallery in London and other important collections.