This painting’s composition is reminiscent of the Annunciation scene,without the presence of the archangel Saint Gabriel. The Virgin isseated, dressed in a blue cloak adorned with golden stars over ared garment. She is depicted sewing a white cloth while reading abook, which rests on a stand to her left. Above the book is a vasecontaining white lilies, a symbol of Mary’s virginity. The Madonnais placed against a backdrop of Renaissance-inspired architecture,and to her right, God the Father holds the Orb, surrounded by agroup of angels.During the Spanish colonial rule mainly religious paintingswere executed aimed at Christianising the indigenous peoples.Local artists closely followed Spanish models, adhering strictly totheir iconography.1 Popular themes included harquebusier angelsand Virgins.However, in the 18th century, as some colonies began toopen politically, a new artistic identity began to emerge. In Mexico,this shift was influenced by European artists such as Andrés de laConcha and Baltasar Echave from Spain, or the Flemish painterSimon Peyrens. The first generation of Baroque painters born inMexico, who were often the sons of these earlier artists, primarilyreceived religious commissions from the clergy, as well.Ovalle was likely born in Mexico City, in the last years ofthe 17th century. After his wedding, he moved to Zacatecas in 1723,and his first dated work, The Immaculate Conception of Guadalupe,was completed in 1736. He operated in Durango and Zacatecas2,and in 1747, he moved to Guadalupe where he lived until his passing,having painted 15 canvases for the Franciscans of this town.Ovalle, more than a simple producer of religious imagery,was a creative force, a fact evident in this small painting. There are pictorial traits that define his unique style. His palette and drawingexpresses emotions and feelings in his characters, making Ovalleexclusive in the universe of baroque painters3.Recognizing the expressivity of his Guadalupe series,Francisco Monterde4 compared Ovalle to famous painters suchas El Greco and the surrealists. Francisco de la Maza5, referencinghis Passion paintings, described the artist as a ‘rebel’ and ‘revolutionary’,defining him as a ‘passionate painter’.While some of his works, such as those in the Passion series6,feature strong colours, relatively hard lines, and marked contrasts,our painting—as well as the Immaculate Conception (1736) or TheTransit of the Virgin from the Museum of Guadalupe—is composedwith lighter general tones and is organized in a more spacious composition,an effect achieved through the inclusion of landscapesand lighter backgrounds7.The spatial and palette differences between the Marianand passion themes are deliberate. The intentionality in the plasticresources in Ovalle’s iconography has a parallel with the mostimportant European artists of that period, a result of deep knowledgeof their work, as well as the engravings by Rubens and Wierix,which the painter knew how to manipulate, adding elements andplacing emphasis on some details.Although Ovalle works are inseparable from the New Spain painting,with a stylistic approach parallel to the European one, wemust recognize the painter's creative capacity within a context of‘rebelliousness’, his style varying with the iconography, not usingpre-established schemes, neither stylistic nor temporal.
1 Bargellini, Clara, Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, vol. 23. no. 78, Mexico City, 2001.
2 Bargellini, Clara, ‘Gabriel José de Ovalle, pintor en Durango y Zacatecas’, in Transición, n0. 13, 1993, pp. 44–47.
3 Bargellini, Clara, Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, vol. 23, no. 78, Mexico City, 2001.
4 Bargellini, Clara, ‘Gabriel José de Ovalle, pintor en Durango y Zacatecas’, in Transición, n0. 13, 1993, pp. 44–47.
5 Monterde, Francisco, ‘La Pasión del pintor Gabriel de Ovalle’, in El Hijo Pródigo, no. 3, 1944, pp. 79 ss.
6 Bargellini, Clara, ‘Amoroso horror: arte y culto en la serie de la Pasión de Gabriel de Ovalle de Guadalupe, Zacatecas’, in XVIII Coloquio Internacional de Historia del Arte: Arte y violencia,México, UNAM, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, 1995, pp. 499–524.
7 Bargellini, Clara, Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, vol. 23. no. 78, Mexico City, 2001.