Description
Philip Fruytiers attr.
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne offer the Child Mary to the Holy Trinity
Oil on alabaster
25x31 cm
The painting depicts a theologically complex scene. Saints Joachim and Anne offer their newborn daughter, the Virgin Mary, to the Trinity to emphasize her consecration to God from birth. Around them, cherubs hold a cartouche inscribed with "Nativitas tua Virgo Maria Gaudium Universo Mundo" (Your Nativity, Virgin Mother of God, has brought joy to the entire world). The phrase is taken from an antiphon of the Vespers for the Nativity of Mary on September 8th.
There is a print of this painting, engraved in the same orientation, by the Flemish painter and engraver Philip Fruytiers.
We also attribute this delicate and rare alabaster painting to Fruytiers.
... this painting, as the long inscription at the base of the engraving states, was created within the Jesuit milieu and under the direct commission of the Order. Stylistically, a comparison with his altarpiece depicting the Triumph of Saint Angelo in the church of Gistel, Belgium, is significant.
The elegant Antwerp painter and engraver also distinguished himself for his small-format works, often executed on paper or parchment with tempera and watercolors. These works, like the one under study here, are characterized by a minute, delicate, and accurate brushstroke.
From the critical notes by Dr. Arabella Cifani
The painting is accompanied by:
Expertise by Dr. Arabella Cifani
Dimensions
25x31 cm
Provenance
Private collection
Condition
Defects and restorations.
