OBRADOR DE LOS MACIP

(Valencia, S. XVI)

MACIP WORKSHOP (Valencia, 16th century) "Virgin of the milk"

Oil on panel. Metal latching. Provenance: Sweden, private collection; Particular collection. Bibliography: Herrero-Cortell, MA and Puig Sanchis, I., “The Virgins of Milk in the Macip workshop: devotional tables, commissions and… master's exams”, BoletIn de Arte, 43, 2022, pp. 73-87. The panel in question shows a well-known composition through a notable set of devotional works painted in the workshop of Vicent Macip and Joan de Joanes, one of the most interesting figures of Valencian painting in times of the Renaissance. We see the Virgin breastfeeding the Child and Saint Joseph accompanied by Saint John and an angel who gives Jesus a cross, a symbol announcing the Passion. The work stands out for the quality of the drawing, the balance of the composition and a particularly contrasting color palette. A recent study by Miquel Àngel Herrero-Cortell and Isidro Puig has assessed a set of 25 works that present the same composition, with slight variations that give rise to the establishment of seven different versions. Our work falls within version 5, which is characterized by the inclusion of Saint Joseph characterized as an old man, and which finds parallel in three works from different private collections (Barcelona, ​​Gallus-Berges collection; Barcelona, ​​Fondevila collection, 60.6 x 51.3 cm; Valencia, GonzAlez MartI collection). In relation to them, the one we present here shows a slight variation, since Saint Joseph does not hold the staff and rests his hand on Mary's left shoulder. Seen as a whole, this notable set of works made in the workshop of Vicent Macip and Joan de Joanes, the one we present here can be compared with those of the highest quality in the group. The nature of all of them is to satisfy the great demand for devotional works intended for intimate piety, which is why the model spread widely thanks to its great commercial success and its popularization. These are, therefore, mass-produced works intended for the private sphere, always under the premise of satisfying orders at low cost and quickly, hence the constant repetition of the model. This is deduced from the great similarity between all of them and even from the coincidence in the measurements. Regarding the gestation of this Marian archetype, according to Herrero and Puig, “Given its formal characteristics: the vigor of the figures, their volumes, the proportions of shoulders, arms and limbs, and their movement and spatial configuration, it is possible to rule out that Vicent Macip is the one who creates the prototype. The compositional design is undoubtedly Joanesque, with figures with wide shoulder blades, small ears and straight noses; clothes with puffed sleeves and abundant folds.” This implies considering that the model would correspond to the initial period of Joanes, coinciding with the first years of activity of the painting workshop still directed by his father, Vicent Macip. This would justify the stylistic oscillations between the works that belong to the group, since the type of serial production would explain the intervention of different hands in its production. We thank Dr. Alberto Velasco Gonzàlez for the attribution and cataloging of this lot. Measurements: 60 x 50 cm.