Seville school; first half of the 17th centur... Lot n° 6

Sevillian school; first half of the 17th century. "Virgin of La Merced". Carved, gilded and polychromed wood. It presents faults in the carving and polychromy. Measurements: 31,5 x 15 x 16 cm. This devotional sculpture represents the image of the crowned Virgin, holding the child in one of her arms, Jesus completely naked as a symbol of his purity and innocence, holding the orb in his hands, which exemplifies the universality of the Christian religion. This is the Marian figure of the Virgin of Mercy, defined by a series of attributes such as the scapular. The Virgin of Mercy is the patron saint of captives, not only physical captives, but also spiritual captives, and of all those who have been marginalised by society. Her devotion originated in Catalonia. The Order of Mercy was founded around her, initiated by Saint Peter Nolasco at the beginning of the 13th century. It was the Mercedarian monks who spread her cult throughout Spain, France and Italy from that date onwards. The iconography for the representations of the Virgin of La Merced acquired its definitive form in the 16th century, which in the Baroque period shifted towards more dynamic representations, with breaks in glory. In the Sevillian environment, the 17th century was a period of enormous economic and therefore also artistic boom, with a sculptural tradition developed to a large extent by the artist Juan Martínez Montañés, who is considered one of the leading figures of the Sevillian sculptural school and whose style combined a certain classicism with, by now, a slight baroque style. Furthermore, his workshop was a kind of "training school" for artists who would go on to shape the Sevillian Baroque in sculpture: mention should be made of Juan de Mesa, Alonso Cano (both of whom introduced a greater Baroque style), etc. In the second third of the 17th century, José Arce or Aertz introduced more Bernese Baroque forms, and Pedro Roldán was the head and head of an important family workshop (also of note were his daughter María Luisa Roldán, his grandson Pedro Duque y Cornejo, etc.). Towards the end of the period, Francisco Ruiz Gijón, Benito de Hita y Castillo, José Montes de Oca (still following the forms of Montañés), etc., are often mentioned. Works of this type were very common in the Baroque period, with the main aim of reaching the faithful through sentiment, although they were also produced for churches and private oratories.