Italian or Spanish school of the 16th century. "Little... Lot 44

Italian or Spanish school of the 16th century. "Little angels with phylactery". Oil on panel. Seven foreshortened child angels frolic on a bed of clouds and hold above their heads a large phylactery on which a Marian antiphon can be read: Ave Regina Caelorum (Hail, Queen of Heaven). The composition is symmetrical and orderly, but the graceful, naturalistic movement of the small bodies, which adopt the most varied attitudes, lends dynamism to the whole. A golden light radiates from the background and tinges the blue of the sky. Thanks to the bold use of light, the bodies acquire an almost sculptural volume, modelled by subtle chromatic shifts. During the Italian Renaissance, humanised depictions of angels became common, characterised as playful, plump infants with fluffy wings. See, for example, Andrea Mantegna's endearing cherubs. In the present painting, which belongs to a transitional period between the Cinquecento and the Baroque, the seraphic representation is part of this progressive humanisation of angels. In the 16th century, the traditional typologies from biblical narratives (seraphim, cherubim, guardian angels, etc.) were maintained, but all of them tended to be inspired by the attitudes and gestures of real children, a process of naturalisation that by the Baroque period would be reflected in works by artists of the stature of Murillo.