Spanish school; first half of the 15th century.

Spanish school; first half of the 15th century.
"Virgin.
Carved wood.
It presents important faults and damages caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 90 x 37 x 20 cm.
Sculpture of devotional character that still preserves part of its polychrome. The carving presents a strict verticality and a great hieratism, typical of the historical period in which it was made. The back of the piece has not been worked, so it is likely that the piece was part of the ornamental decoration of an architectural ensemble. The carving stands out for the simplicity of the forms, the rigid technique of straight lines and the somewhat naive conception of the face. The carving stands static with its oversized face, which highlights the great expressiveness that transmits the face, through the large almond-shaped eyes, the straight nose, and arched eyebrows. Thus becoming a symbol, above the superfluous details.
Gothic sculpture pursues mainly didactic purposes, and its images are conceived as a visual narrative, which must always be clearly legible. At this time, prior to the search for naturalism that would emerge during the Gothic period, the language is purely conceptual, and works on the basis of symbols and conventions accepted by all. In this sense, the anatomy is synthetic, representative rather than a reflection of the natural, as is the treatment of the face.