After Murillo

Spanish school of the XIX century. After BARTOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - Cadiz, 1682).
"Virgin of the Rosary.
Oil on panel.
Frame in carved and gilded wood.
Measurements: 25 x 19 cm; 43 x 38 cm (frame).

The one we present here is a work that follows the same pictorial and compositional characteristics as those of the Sevillian master. The typology of the "Virgin of the Rosary" was a recurring theme for Esteban Murillo, who, in fact, around 1655 made one of his masterpieces with this theme, now preserved in the Prado Museum. Thus, in the present version, the Virgin is represented half-length, seated, holding in her lap the Child Jesus, seated on her thigh, whom she holds with her left hand while with her right hand she wraps him with a rosary. The child, only two years old, covers his genitals with a white cloth, symbol of purity, held by his mother's hands. Both figures are enveloped in an atmosphere of penumbra, on a neutral and timeless background that does not allow us to visualize, or even imagine, the surrounding space. The artist focuses his painting especially on the beauty of the faces, recreating a prototype of feminine and childlike beauty, reaching what Murillo proposed at that time, completely angelic virgins. The faces and the rosy and serene flesh of the child stand out, which are underlined by the crimson pink tones of the tunic. Following Murillo's original typology, the characters -unlike other iconographies of the same type made by Velázquez or Alonso Cano in which the protagonists cross their gazes-, look straight ahead, directed to the spectator.