The Virgin crowned and polychromed by Angels
Ca. 1600. Wash, Pencil ground, Grey-brown ink, Pencil on yellow paper.Not on display
The Museo del Prado collection houses an Italian drawing, datable to the early seventeenth century, depicting a figure of Mary at prayer with her arms outspread and raised to heaven, crowned by two angels and flanked by the Greek initials that identify her as the mother of God. It belongs to a type of Byzantine model, specifically the Virgin Blachernitissa, which found its way into Venice after being widely represented in icons and mosaics in Eastern European churches. What is unique about the Prado drawing is the presence of two other angels at Mary’s feet. The one on the right is worshiping the Virgin, who stands on a pedestal in accordance with the codes established for this image. The other one, with a ruler by his side, holds a receptacle in his left hand and in the other a brush, with which he is polychroming the image. It does show an early model of the involvement of these divine artisans, in which the joint crafting of the image of the Virgin by humans and angels is the main subject.
Arias Martínez, Manuel, Darse la mano. Escultura y color en el Siglo de Oro, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2024, p.237
