The Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Inmaculada Concepción type)
Devotional painting on card (paperboard), later mounted to an oak panel with cross-bracing. • Italian School, possibly Circle of Carlo Dolci or Guido Reni; reflects the influence of the Bolognese School.
Style & Movement
Italian Baroque / Counter-Reformation devotional art.
Medium & Technique
Oil on card. Employs late Renaissance/Baroque techniques including chiaroscuro, sfumato for the atmospheric background, and glazing for the rich lapis hues of the mantle.
Creation Period
Mid-to-late 17th Century (c. 1650-1680)
Dimensions & Format
Small-scale devotional cabinet work. Vertical portrait format with an arched (lunette-style) internal composition, approximately 8 x 12 inches (image size).
Subject Description
The Virgin Mary is depicted in an ecstatic state, looking upward toward a divine light. She is flanked by cherubim in the clouds. The iconography blends the Assumption with the Immaculate Conception, featuring Mary in traditional pink and blue robes, standing atop a darkened terrestrial landscape, symbolizing her triumph over the earthly realm.
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Good (Restored). The work has undergone significant structural stabilization including an interleaf lining and attachment to an oak cradle to prevent warping of the original card support.
Estimated Market Value
$6,000 - $9,500 USD
Auction Estimate
$4,000 - $7,000 USD
Provenance History
Private collection; the rare use of card/paperboard as a primary support suggests a high-quality artist's modular study or a specialized commission for a private portable altar.
Art Historical Significance
Highly significant due to the rarity of the support (17th-century card). It serves as a prime example of the Counter-Reformation's demand for intimate, intensely emotional devotional objects intended to inspire personal piety.
Notable Features
Rare primary support of 'early card' or heavy paperboard; high-quality aedicula architectural frame with gilded rosettes and ebonized columns; interleaf lining indicates professional 19th or 20th-century conservation intervention.
Condition Issues
Historic warping suppressed by modern restoration; some surface abrasion consistent with age; possible minor retouching in the darker pigment areas of the mantle and sky; aged varnish layer.
Conservation Recommendations
Maintain in a climate-controlled environment with stable humidity to prevent movement in the oak-braced panel. Frame should be kept in its current aedicula style which provides structural protection. Use UV-filtering museum glass if displayed in high light areas.
Collector Notes
17th century Italian . Rare example of a devotional oil on very early card. The painting has been restored and has an interleaf lining and is laid to an oak panel with oak cross bracing