Novo-Hispanic school; second half of the 18th century.

Novo-Hispanic school; second half of the XVIII century.
"Virgin and Child" and "St. George with Child".
Oil on copper.
Measurements. 13,5 x 11,5 cm.
Painting on copper, carried out in the second half of the XVIII century within the scope of the novo-Hispanic school, that presents in its obverse an intimate representation of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, while in the reverse Saint Joseph with the Child appears, conforming a devotional set of remarkable singularity. The choice of the metallic support, frequent in viceregal production, responds both to its durability and to its capacity to intensify the chromatic saturation and the fineness of the finish, qualities particularly appreciated in small format works destined for private piety.
On the obverse, the Virgin appears half-length, holding the naked Child. The composition, inscribed in an oval format, reinforces the recollected and affective character of the scene. The brushstroke is meticulous and enameled, characteristic of oil on copper, allowing smooth transitions between light and shadow and a smooth finish that accentuates the idealization of the faces. The oval physiognomy of Mary, with delicate features and low gaze, as well as the gentle body of the Child, refer to models spread by European engravings, particularly Flemish and Italian, which circulated widely in the viceroyalty. Nevertheless, the chromatic sensibility and the emphasis on domestic tenderness are evidence of a creative assimilation typical of the Novo-Hispanic context.
The reverse, with the figure of Saint Joseph carrying the Child, completes the iconographic program in a familiar and devotional key. The presence of the saint, whose iconography acquired renewed impetus in the 18th century under the influence of Counter-Reformation spirituality and Franciscan and Carmelite patronage, suggests that the work may have been conceived as a portable object of meditation on the Holy Family. The double painting, relatively infrequent but documented in the viceregal sphere, reinforces its intimate and possibly itinerant character.
As a whole, the work is inscribed in the late-baroque Novo-Hispanic pictorial tradition, at a time when the language inherited from the full baroque is softening towards gentler and more sentimental formulas, anticipating eighteenth-century sensibilities close to rococo. Its technical refinement, its reduced format and its iconography centered on the affective humanity of the sacred figures make it an eloquent testimony of private religiosity in New Spain in the second half of the 18th century.