Attributed to Alonso Miguel de Tovar

Attributed to ALONSO MIGUEL DE TOVAR (Higuera de la Sierra, Huelva, 1678-Madrid, 1752)
"The Annunciation of the Virgin".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
It has a frame of the eighteenth century.
Measurements: 166 x 124 cm; 177 x 135 cm (frame).
The spatial complexity that denotes here the theme of the Annunciation, making coexist the pedestrian architectural plane with the celestial, presents clear concomitances with the aesthetics that was implanted in the Baroque tradition in terms of the treatment of biblical episodes. Although it is worth mentioning that in this case the scene is defined by a great complexity and a broad sense of theatricality, since it is not the usual representation of the Annunciation. In fact, the work presents a great narrative sense of history, since the Trinity dominates the scene, with God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit accompanied by a large retinue of child angels. In the last shot we can see St. Joseph with the announcing angel who brings the good news and in the foreground the Virgin on her knees directing her gaze to the archangel Gabriel, who shows her a canvas with her image as Immaculate.
The complexity of the scene and its quality bring the work closer to the hand of Alonso Miguel Tovar, who was probably trained in the workshop of the painter Juan Antonio Osorio, a great admirer of the work of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, like Tovar. Because of his detailed knowledge of Murillo's technique, the Cathedral Chapter commissioned him to restore the painting of the Nativity of the Virgin in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the cathedral of Seville. Around 1723 he painted an Immaculate Conception for the chapel of the Casa de Contratación, which was then located in Cadiz. This work is currently preserved in the cathedral of Cadiz. Isabel de Farnesio, wife of Felipe V and admirer of Murillo, called Tovar to the Court between the end of 1723 and the beginning of 1724. Tovar's arrival in Madrid coincided with the hiring of numerous artists to decorate the palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso. In 1726 Teodoro Ardemans died and Alonso Miguel Tovar was appointed painter of Felipe V's chamber. Tovar's work is currently in the most important Spanish and international art galleries: Prado Museum, National Gallery of London, Louvre Museum of Paris, Museum of Fine Arts of Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, Museum of Cadiz, Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Cologne, Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth, Detroit Institute of Arts, National Museum of Ancient Art of Lisbon and Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, among many others.