With its very straightforward composition, this painting has the serenity and restfulness that characterize many of Alonso Cano´s religious works. The painter´s skill at assimilating the most varied influences is evident here: the composition is based on a well-known religious print by Dürer, while the palette bears a certain resemblance to Titian´s, and the Virgin is quite close to Rafael´s
Technical studies carried out at the Museo del Prado confirm Alonso Cano as the author of this Virgin of the Star, which belongs to the Museo del Prado but has been on loan to the Museo del Bellas Artes de Granada since 1958. Cano’s hand in this work had been questioned by the maximum authority on this artist, hispanist Harold E. Wethey. In his exhaustive monograph from 1955, Wethey considered it