Antwerp School; second third of the XVII century.

Antwerp School; second third of the seventeenth century.
"The passage of the Virgin".
Oil on copper.
It has frame of the eighteenth century.
Measurements: 84,5 x 113 cm; 95,5 x 124 cm (frame).
Aesthetically this work is part of the rich Flemish tradition of Baroque religious painting, characterized by its narrative intensity and its ability to combine drama and devotion. The scene represents the moment before the Assumption, with the Virgin recumbent on the bed, surrounded by the apostles, whose attitudes and gestures express a restrained range of emotions. The composition is articulated in a clear and orderly manner, with a strong horizontal axis marked by the body of the Virgin, which acts as the spiritual and visual center of the work, while the figures are arranged around her, creating an enveloping rhythm that leads the viewer's gaze.
The artistic quality is manifested in the mastery of color and light, with a palette rich in warm and deep tones, contrasted with the luminous whites of the cloths and the shroud, which reinforce the sense of sacredness. The use of chiaroscuro accentuates the volumes and gives depth to the scene, concentrating the illumination on the body of the Virgin and emphasizing her central role. The Antwerp school was distinguished by a painting of great vitality, chromatic richness and expressive force, as this painting reflects. Influenced decisively by the figure of Pedro Pablo Rubens, this school combines the dynamism of the Italian Baroque with a solid Flemish tradition in drawing, detail and taste for textures.
Among its main singularities are the masterful use of color, with warm and saturated tones, the use of chiaroscuro to reinforce the drama of the scenes and broad and dynamic compositions, in which the figures are articulated by means of eloquent gestures and fluid movements.
Likewise, the Antwerp school was characterized by its high technical level and collaborative work in workshops, where specialists in figures, landscapes or still lifes contributed to the same work. This model favored an abundant and high quality production, consolidating Antwerp as a fundamental reference of the European Baroque and as an artistic focus of extraordinary international influence.