Luis de Morales

Exhibited by Galeria Bernat

Material Oil on panel

Dimensions 80.8 × 57.2 cm

Status Vetted

About the Work

This exceptional Pietà by Luis de Morales, known as El Divino, epitomizes the spiritual intensity that defined Spanish devotional painting in the sixteenth century. Conceived for intimate contemplation, the work reflects the fervent religiosity of its time and the artist’s extraordinary ability to move the viewer. Francisco Pacheco famously wrote that Morales’ images could “move even stones to devotion.”

Although Morales returned repeatedly to the theme of the Pietà, producing several autograph variations, this panel is the only fully autograph example of this particular compositional design. The elongated Virgin tenderly supports the lifeless body of Christ against a dark background that heightens both the drama and the restrained emotional power of the scene, distinguishing it from other closely related versions in which the disposition of the figures subtly differs.

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