Magnificent painting of the Italian school of... Lot 28

Magnificent painting of the Italian school of the early seventeenth century depicting the virgin with child. The artist here borrows the aesthetic codes of the Italian "primitives", precursors of the Renaissance, and who create, from the traditional model that has reigned in Italy for centuries, the "Greek Way" inspired by Byzantium, a new art of painting based on the humanization of the figure. This humanisation of divine figures is expressed in our motherly scene by the representation of the Virgin delicately holding her son, forehead to forehead, and sketching a slight smile of tenderness, her gaze immersed in that of Jesus. The expression of transcendence is evoked here only by the slight halo of light surrounding the virgin and the child and almost merging with the dark background of the painting. Our "humble" virgin is wearing her characteristic dress, a simple red and blue robe; red signifying her connection with the earthly world and blue, by analogy with the sky, her great spirituality. Her uncovered hair, braided and tied with a thin ribbon around her head, also reveals her profoundly feminine and human nature. Her hands, depicted with long fingers, remind us, as is often the case in religious art, that the mother of Christ possesses the sense of the spiritual viewpoint which translates into a deep understanding of things, the revelation of their hidden meaning and clairvoyance. The child is wrapped in a white cloth, symbolizing his purity and power. Although the body is that of a child, his facial features are those of an adult, and his deep and grave gaze reflects his precocious wisdom and maturity. On the left, pointed with the index finger by the divine child and placed on the edge of the table, a thornless rose, with translucent stem and leaves, symbolizes purity and "universal" love. Oil on canvas Well framed Restorations Size of the painting: 68 x 56 cm