Juan De Valdés Leal (Succession), Our Lady on... Lot 3

Juan De Valdés Leal (Succession), Our Lady on the Pillar (Virgen del Pilar). Oil on copper. (Late 17th c.). 47 x 32.7 cm (semicircular at top). Inscribed in Latin below the altar. Framed. //rg/37/2 The depicted image of the Virgin Mary is today in the Basílica del Pilar in Zaragoza, Aragon. According to tradition, Mary appeared to the Apostle James standing on a column on January 2 of the year 40 AD. This vision is considered in Mariology as the first apparition of Mary ever and at the same time as the only apparition of the Mother of God that is said to have occurred during her earthly lifetime. As a testimony of her visit, she is said to have left a jasper column, popularly known as "el Pilar". It is said that James and the first seven converts of the city built a primitive adobe chapel on the banks of the Ebro River, on the site of which said basilica now stands. The image of the Virgin is a gilded carving attributed to Juan de la Huerta. It stands on a column covered with bronze and silver. This is covered from the feet of Mary to the base of the pillar with a mantle that is lifted only on the second, twelfth and twentieth day of each month. Provenance: private property, southern Germany. Taxation: differential taxation (VAT: Margin Scheme).