Luis de Morales (1509-1586), Follower of - Mater dolorosa

Luis de Morales School
No signature.
No certification.

The painting, original from the 16th-17th century, reproduces a Pietà image widespread in the 16th century in the domains of the 'Empire where the sun never sets', with specimens found in Spain, in Catholic Germany and in southern Italy.

The image, which became a topos by the mid-16th century, depicts the faces of Christ and Mary very close to each other, one on the left and the other on the right of the canvas in an almost unnatural position (in the Bilbao specimen the figures are reversed). The attention is focused on the faces, whose expressions are exalted, as is characteristic of the Mannerist era. The overall effect conveys great pathos, marking a rupture with the serene balance of the Italian Renaissance. The dark backgrounds and oblique light presage the tormented work of Caravaggio.

The canvas proposed here presents traits that link it to the early works of the Spanish Mannerist master Luis De Morales (1510-1586), called 'El Divino', present in Eastern Sicily ("Ultima Cena" at the Civic Museum of Castello Ursino in Catania and "Christ on the Way to Calvary" at the Civic Museum of Messina), where the figures still have softer features and have not yet undergone the vertical deformation that characterizes the mature period’s production.

The proposed specimen is unsigned, as are the other works by the author (except for an example in Naples).
The painting proposed here came into my family’s possession after being bought in 1995 from a Sicilian restorer in Modica.
The stylistic characteristics and the localization of the work make attribution to the Master’s collaborators possible.

The antique dark wooden frame is offered as a gift.
Frame 70x80 cm; painting 50 x 63 cm (H)

Free pickup possible in northern Rome
International shipping possible, but the processing time at the SUE desk of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage is required.