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Lot Essay
The inherent softness of alabaster, easy to sculpt and polish, made it a popular alternative to marble or stone for artists in Europe during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The centres of production for alabaster sculpture were geographically widespread. One of the most famous was based in Nottingham in the UK but countries including France, Italy, Germany and Spain also saw a flourishing use of the material during the period.
The present relief is linked to several other alabaster depictions of the Virgin and Child attributed to a closely connected group of artists working in Spain, predominantly Burgos, during the 16th century. All share many compositional and stylistic similarities, showing the Christ Child tenderly reaching up to touch his mother’s face and the Virgin’s veil billowing dramatically behind her head. The first of the group is housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. no. 153-1879) and attributed to Diego de Siloé (c.1495-1563) (Debaene, loc. cit.). Another is in the Metropolitan Museum, dated to 1520-30 and is described as after a model by de Siloé or his close collaborator Felipe Vigarny (or Bigarny, c. 1475-1542). However, it is a work attributed to Virgarny’s son, Gregorio Pardo (1517-1552), that offers the best comparison with the present lot (see Coppel, op. cit. p.42-61). As in our relief, seraphim have been added to the composition and strong parallels can be drawn between the carving of their faces in both works in addition to those of Christ and the Virgin.
The present relief is linked to several other alabaster depictions of the Virgin and Child attributed to a closely connected group of artists working in Spain, predominantly Burgos, during the 16th century. All share many compositional and stylistic similarities, showing the Christ Child tenderly reaching up to touch his mother’s face and the Virgin’s veil billowing dramatically behind her head. The first of the group is housed at the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. no. 153-1879) and attributed to Diego de Siloé (c.1495-1563) (Debaene, loc. cit.). Another is in the Metropolitan Museum, dated to 1520-30 and is described as after a model by de Siloé or his close collaborator Felipe Vigarny (or Bigarny, c. 1475-1542). However, it is a work attributed to Virgarny’s son, Gregorio Pardo (1517-1552), that offers the best comparison with the present lot (see Coppel, op. cit. p.42-61). As in our relief, seraphim have been added to the composition and strong parallels can be drawn between the carving of their faces in both works in addition to those of Christ and the Virgin.