Sevillian school; first half of the 18th century. "Virgen... Lot 7

Sevillian school; first half of the 18th century. "Virgen de la antigua con donante". Oil on canvas. Relined. It has a period frame. Measurements: 125 x 85 cm; 139 x 93 cm (frame). Devotional work, starring the Virgin, the Child, several angels and a bishop. In the centre, standing in front of the spectator, is the Virgin, dressed in a tunic and golden mantle. She holds a carnation in one hand, while with the other she holds her child. A child, also dressed in golden robes, is seated, holding a small bird in one of his hands, while with the other he makes the gesture of blessing, which seems to be addressed to the spectator. Next to them, kneeling, is the figure of a religious man, whose mitre and crosier make him appear to be a figure of sainthood. He shows them an architectural construction which, given its characteristics, probably represents the Church of the Tabernacle in Seville Cathedral, work on which began in 1618. The scene is completed with two phylacteries, one of which reads only Ave Maria, while the other contains a verse from the Salve Regina. "Exsules filii Hevae, ad te suspiramus (The banished sons of Eve; to you we sigh). The 17th century saw the arrival of the Baroque in the Sevillian school, with the triumph of naturalism over Mannerist idealism, a loose style and many other aesthetic liberties. At this time the school reached its greatest splendour, both in terms of the quality of its works and the primordial status of Sevillian Baroque painting. Thus, during the transition to the Baroque period, we find Juan del Castillo, Antonio Mohedano and Francisco Herrera el Viejo, whose works already display the rapid brushstrokes and crude realism of the style, and Juan de Roelas, who introduced Venetian colourism. The middle of the century saw the fullness of the period, with figures such as Zurbarán, a young Alonso Cano and Velázquez. Finally, in the last third of the century we find Murillo and Valdés Leal, founders in 1660 of an Academy where many of the painters active during the first quarter of the 18th century were trained, such as Meneses Osorio, Sebastián Gómez, Lucas Valdés and others.