"Very Important Oil On Sevillian Canvas: Visit To The Childbirth. XVII Es "
Very important and impressive oil on canvas and representing a genre scene to be compared to the work of Abraham Bosse, certain etchings of which are kept in Paris at the Carnavalet museum. This is the visit to the woman who has given birth. This very large Castilian painting can be read and interpreted in light of the General Collection of Caquets of the Childbirth. For centuries, births in the world of elites took place at home in a daily space: an extraordinary event despite its frequency, childbirth, just like death, happens where people live from day to day and for years, a lineage. By giving birth to her child, each mother is connected to all the mothers who, before her, gave birth to their children in the same place. The birth takes place in the most used room, the common room, which is often the only one with a fireplace: with the help of a large wood fire, we maintain the heat, essential for the mother and the child. child. The entire room is sealed, like a real closed door, both to protect against the cold and to prevent evil spirits from entering. Here, the four-poster bed has been set up. The parturient is assisted by an exclusively female entourage: in the center, the matron is well known to the entire village; she is generally elderly, and therefore available; she learned her trade on the job, without studying. Often the daughter or niece of a matron, it was enough for her to have a few successful deliveries to gain the trust of the village women; she generally does not know how to read or write and the priest who supervises her skills only asks her to know how to recite the baptismal formulas, in case she has to wave a newborn in bad shape. She is often also the one who takes care of washing the dead; this dual role clearly indicates how, in ancient society, the fundamental proximity between the two ends of life was recognized. In the 17th century, in addition to the appearance of midwives, men entered this formerly exclusively feminine sphere. For social‚ family‚ religious reasons‚ but also to protect themselves against any possible complaint of professional negligence‚ if there was a fear that the mother does not die in childbirth‚ midwives‚ like surgeons and doctors‚ preferred that the birth take place in front of witnesses. Here, the husband discovers his child, a fat and robust baby that the cherubs religiously "doubt" (top and right of the canvas). On the floor and on the chair, different utensils. Our oil has been re-lined and is in good condition. Small fragility at the bottom right. Fresh colors and surprisingly narrative facial expressions. Impressive dimensions which make this unsigned work a very beautiful testimony to the history of everyday life in 17th century Europe.