Sorrowing Virgin
Hispano-Flemish Workshop
First quarter of 16th century
Polychrome and gilded gessoed oak
From the Collection of the Cathedral of Funchal
121 cm (H) x 43 cm (W)
MASF134 |
A Sorrowing Virgin rediscovered in 1968, brought from the Funchal Cathedral to the Museum the same year, which must have been part of a Calvary set. The St. John sculpture, found in the 90s in the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Funchal, in the meantime has been included in the collections of this Museum and in works for conservation and restoration. The size, the stylistic solutions, and formal characteristics, such as the treatment of the base, despite the crude repainting of the image of St. John, lead to the conclusion that they come from the same atelier.1
It must have belonged to the upper central terminus of the structure of the retable of the main altar of the Funchal Cathedral, dedicated to the Passion of Christ. In the painted retables of the early 16th century, many times, we find mixed techniques of painting and sculpting. There is a crucified Christ in a private collection in Porto that may be linked to this set, which would complete the composition.
The Virgin is shown drying her tears with the corner of her veil. The modelling of the clothes, which has a most beautiful volumetric effect, falls in diagonal folds.
This sculpture was probably made between 1514 and 1520. It has been attributed to Olivier de Gand, but the close timing of the dates documented in his projects for Coimbra, Évora and Tomar make it more likely that this order was given to a collaborator and follower, such as Fernão Munoz. It was only in 1514 that the Funchal diocese was created and its dedication only in 1517. The retable of the Funchal Cathedral must also date from the second decade of the 16th century.
1 Arte Flamenga, Museu de Arte Sacra do Funchal, Luiza Clode e Fernando António Baptista Pereira, EDICARTE, 1997, p. 133. |
