19th Century Italian Ex-voto – Naive Painting On Wood – Dated June 24, 1866

Ex-voto painted on wood, typical of 19th-century Italian popular devotion. Dated June 24, 1866, it illustrates the gratitude of a soldier spared on the battlefield, a striking scene where divine intervention is manifested in the heart of the tumult of war. The composition is divided into two registers: In the celestial part, the Virgin Mary, represented at the moment of the Annunciation, receives the angel Gabriel holding a lily, symbol of purity and grace. In the terrestrial part, a soldier in uniform, amid cannonballs and artillery fire, raises his eyes to the sky to thank the Virgin, while his companions lie on the ground. The inscription “Grazia ricevuta li 24 giugno 1866” (“Grace received on June 24, 1866”) attests to the votive nature of the work, a sincere expression of gratitude for a protection deemed miraculous. Votive offerings (from the Latin ex voto suscepto, “according to the vow made”) are offerings of thanks addressed to God, the Virgin Mary, or a saint, in recognition of a grace received. They were particularly popular in Italy, Provence, and the south of France from the 17th to the 19th century. These paintings, often created by popular artists or regional workshops, bear witness to both the deep faith and the daily lives of believers. The votive offering presented here belongs to this tradition of naïve painting: the perspective is simple, the figures stylized, but the scene exudes great narrative and emotional intensity. The military theme undoubtedly refers to an episode in the Italian Wars of Independence (the Battle of Custoza, in June 1866, is one of the hypotheses), where religious fervor mingled with national history.