Caravaggista school; Italy, XVII century.

Caravaggista school; Italy, XVII century.
"The Transit of the Virgin".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It presents Repainting and restorations on the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 127 x 159 cm; 149 x 182 cm (frame).
According to the Apocryphal Gospels, after St. Michael announced her earthly end, the Virgin summoned the apostles, who came to her call except for St. Thomas, who was preaching in India. In this particular case the author offers us a scene that involves the spectator, turning him into one more character of the composition. In the left zone of the composition the Virgin lying on one of the apostles. All of them swirl around the figure of the Virgin, differentiated in their postures, gestures, clothing and faces, indicating the individuality of each one and even their personality.
Stylistically, the work shows a clear influence of Caravaggio and the followers of his style: theatrical use of a powerful spotlight, combination of this strong illumination with areas in darkness, use of diagonals, use of models inspired by the common people (although without the extraordinary realism of the Italian master in the present work because there is a greater degree of idealization in the faces), etc. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter, active in Rome, Naples, Malta and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His painting combines a realistic observation of the human figure, both physically and emotionally, with a dramatic use of light, which exerted a decisive influence on the formation of Baroque painting. Caravaggio depicted close anatomical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro that would come to be known as tenebrism. This technique became a dominant stylistic element, darkening shadows and transfiguring objects into brilliant beams of light. He vividly expressed crucial moments and scenes, often involving violent struggles, torture and death. He worked quickly with models from life, dispensing with sketches to work directly on canvas. His influence was profound in the new Baroque style that emerged from Mannerism and can be traced in the works of great masters such as Pedro Pablo Rubens, José de Ribera, Rembrandt and Diego Velázquez, as well as in countless artists of the following generation, who because they manifested his profound influence were called "Caravaggists" or "Tenebrists".