Spanish school of the second half of the 17th century

Spanish school of the second half of the 17th century.
"Immaculate Conception".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 30.5 x 44.5 cm; 52 x 66 cm (frame).

The theme of the Immaculate Conception, very frequent in the Spanish art of the XVII century, came to constitute one of the signs of national identity of Spain as a Catholic country. It is one of the most genuinely local themes of Spanish Baroque painting, since our country was the main defender of this mystery, and the one that fought most insistently to make it a dogma of faith. In this context, numerous artists and intellectuals worked to build a clear iconography that would help spread the Immaculate Conception, bringing together symbolism and popular fervor. Due to its stylistic characteristics, the work in question can be inscribed within the Andalusian school of the late second half of the eighteenth century. It is a direct heir to the Baroque models of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, both in composition and iconography. Thus, we see Mary dressed in a white tunic, wearing a blue mantle that floats around her. The figures of the child angels also derive directly from Murillo's models, both in their conception and in their placement, distributed between the lower area of the painting, under the pedestal of clouds, and the upper one, as cherub heads surrounding the breaking of Glory. As we have already pointed out, the composition faithfully follows Murillo's models: Mary full-length in the center, dressed in white and blue, with her hair loose in soft undulations, surrounded by angels and clouds, with the open sky behind her figure, flooded by the golden light of the Gloria.