The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin

Bathed in golden light, the Virgin Mary stands on a crescent moon and is crowned with faint stars. This light-filled image is based on a passage in the Book of Revelation in the Bible’s New Testament in which Saint John the Evangelist speaks of his vision of a woman ‘clothed with the sun’. In the Catholic faith, this woman is conflated with the Virgin Mary and the belief that she was born free from sin - a phenomenon known as the ‘Immaculate Conception’.

The Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-82) painted more images of this popular Catholic subject – the Immaculate Conception – than any other artist of his time, and his busy workshop made versions like this one to help with demand. The use of precious pigments - ultramarine for the Virgin's blue robe and red lake in the angels' rosy cheeks - shows this to be the work of an accomplished artist. Cleaning and restoration in 2012 removed layers of yellowed varnish and old additions to reveal brilliantly painted passages, particularly in the Virgin's mantle and the facial expressions of the angels. Except for the pose of the Virgin's head, the present composition relates directly to an engraving of 1794 by Francisco de Paula Marti (1761-1827) after a painting by Murillo long thought to be lost.