Virgin Of Trapani - 15th/16th Century

This sculpture reproduces the famous model of the Virgin of Trapani, the original marble version of which, sometimes attributed to Nino Pisano (c. 1315–1368) or his workshop, is preserved in the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, in the Chapel of the Fishermen, a former Carmelite convent in Trapani, Sicily. The object of a major pilgrimage, this Marian image enjoyed extraordinary renown from the late Middle Ages onward, leading to the creation of countless replicas and variations, disseminated particularly in alabaster throughout Italy and beyond. The work presented here is part of this tradition of disseminating the model, while offering a Renaissance interpretation, perceptible in the sobriety of the composition, the idealized softness of the faces, and the ample, architectural treatment of the drapery. Through its material and formal vocabulary, it belongs to a 16th-century Italian production intended for private devotion.