17th-century Spanish-flemish School, Madonna And Child

17th-century Spanish-Flemish school

Madonna and Child

Oil on copper, 15 x 23 cm – with frame, 41 x 28 cm

In this small oil on copper, the richly attired Virgin, holding the book of the sacred scriptures in her hands, watches over the docile Child, asleep and lying on an elaborate wooden cradle.

The practice of copper painting established itself, in conjunction with Mannerist taste, at the beginning of the 16th century. In the same years as the spread of engraving for prints and the refinement of painted enamel techniques, many painters began painting landscapes, still lifes, religious and mythological subjects, battle scenes, and genre scenes on copper. Copper constitutes a more precious support than ordinary canvases and panels and responds to that search for preciousness typical of Mannerist taste. This technique was cultivated by great artists such as Domenichino, Guercino, Guido Reni, Caravaggio, Sebastiano del Piombo and Bronzino, but also by many Flemish painters, more or less well-known. The invention of the laminate made it possible to obtain, quickly and without casting, very regular surfaces through specifically studied techniques which, at times, involved coating with further alloys. We do not know who first introduced the copper painting technique to Europe: it is clear that from the mid-16th century, this support was widely used in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands as a new and precious element for small and refined paintings. Guido Reni, for example, who learned the technique of painting on copper from the Flemish Denys Calvaert, used to coat the copper support with thin sheets of silver, gold or a metal with a tin-like appearance, so as to achieve an effect of extreme brightness.