17th-century Italian School – The Nativity Of The Virgin – Large Oil On Canvas

A significant oil-on-canvas painting depicting The Nativity of the Virgin, a 17th-century Italian work, likely by a painter active in Tuscany.

The scene takes place indoors and follows the traditional iconography of the birth of the Virgin Mary. In the background, Saint Anne rests in her bed after giving birth, while in the foreground several women bustle about the newborn.

The child is shown on the lap of a young woman seated and surrounded by maidservants. One of them, kneeling in the foreground, dips her hand into a large basin prepared for the child’s bath, while another figure, on the right, holds or unfolds a cloth. On the left side of the composition, an elderly man, presumably Saint Joachim, is depicted sitting in conversation with a richly dressed young woman.

The composition brings together a large number of figures and is organized according to a composition still marked by the Mannerist tradition of the late 16th century. The figures’ oval faces, expressive gestures, abundant drapery, and palette of reds, blues, yellows, and greens link this painting to the early 17th-century Italian tradition, likely Tuscan.

The painting is of definite decorative interest due to its large format, the richness of its composition, and its religious subject matter presented as a scene of domestic life.

Oil on canvas.

Dimensions of the canvas:
131.5 × 95.5 cm.

The canvas shows several historical restorations, visible in particular on the reverse side in the form of patches. There is also wear, historical retouching, crackling, and alterations to the varnish consistent with the work’s age. The varnish, which has darkened over time, makes the backgrounds particularly difficult to make out.

The painting is set in a later 19th-century wooden and gilded stucco frame, adorned with floral motifs and rosettes at the corners.

Italian school, likely Tuscan.
17th century.
Unsigned.

Delivery in a wooden crate on a pallet by a carrier to the ground floor in front of your home (bulky packaging), 300 euros in France, 1,000 euros in the EU, and 3,000 euros for the rest of the world.