Pair of frontispieces. Spain, second half of the 16th century

Pair of frontispieces. Spain, second half of the 16th century.
"The Assumption of the Virgin" and "The Coronation of the Virgin".
Carved, gilded and polychrome wood.
Active xylophages.
Measurements: 41 x 90 x 8 cm.

On the one hand, the expression Assumption is significant: it is opposed to the Ascension, as the passive to the active. That is, Mary does not ascend to heaven by her own means, like Christ, but is elevated to Paradise by the angels. Byzantine art represents the Assumption of the Virgin's soul, collected by Christ on his deathbed. On the other hand, Western art depicts her bodily Assumption outside the tomb where the apostles had buried her. Therefore, a distinction must be made in iconography between the Assumption of the Virgin's soul in the form of a child and the Assumption of her glorious body, the latter being the one represented here. The European model presents Mary in a prayerful attitude, with joined hands, surrounded by golden light, carried by angels and leaving the open tomb at her feet, which may appear empty or full of lilies and roses. Because of an iconographic confusion, the Assumption will lose its original character to become Ascension, as it happens in this work. Instead of being lifted by angels, the Virgin flies alone, with her arms outstretched; the angels surrounding her are limited to form a procession. This transformation was consummated in Italian art in the 16th century, and progressively spread throughout the rest of Europe. However, this new formula did not eliminate the old one, of which we find examples in the 17th century.

On the other hand, the theme of the Coronation of the Virgin was one of the privileged iconographies in the Baroque period, because it allowed the painter to deploy his skills in the breaking of glory and the ethereal representation of the bodies. Here, the axis of compositional symmetry is presided over by the Holy Spirit, in line with the Crown and the figure of Mary, whose feet float above three seraphim. As usual in this iconography, God the Father is on the right, and Jesus Christ on the left. The composition is strictly symmetrical without losing naturalism or a certain contained dynamism that reveals the baroque taste. It is completed with the presence of a court of musical angels in the lower part and other groups of seraphim in the corners of the upper part. Also the lighting, vaporous and dramatic, is typically baroque. It contributes to give ethereal substance to the figures, and gives lightness to the white robe of the Virgin, around which the whole painting is organized. The Virgin keeps her gaze lowered, closing her eyelids, intensely feeling her role as mediator between humanity and the Kingdom of Heaven.