19th Cent. Oil Silk Painting Immaculate Virgin Mary, Embroidery, Gilt Frame

A devotional textile picture of the Immaculate Conception, combining embroidery with painted facial features and hands. 
 
Spain,
 
Second half of 19th Century
 
Following: La Inmaculada Concepción del Escorial — Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

 
This mixed-media composition presents the Blessed Virgin Mary with flowing hair, an uplifted gaze and hands joined in prayer. Mary wears a luminous white robe beneath a blue mantle, both rendered in directional stitches that suggest the movement and folds of drapery. Gold-colored metallic thread outlines her garments, while a decorative crown above her head celebrates her dignity as Queen of Heaven. Surrounding sprays of lilies evoke Marian purity; smaller flowers, foliage and a beaded grape motif enrich the carefully balanced composition. 
 
The Immaculate Conception expresses the Catholic belief that Mary was preserved from original sin from the first moment of her conception. Long established in Christian devotion, the doctrine was formally defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854, giving this subject particular resonance within nineteenth-century religious art. 
 
Silk-like threads, small glass beads, sequins and metallic embellishments lend the surface texture and gentle sparkle. The painterly treatment of Mary is closely inspired by the works of one of the greatest Spanish Baroque painters, Murillo. Translated here into devotional needlework and delicate painting. 
 
Presented behind glass in a gilt wooden frame, this tender image offers a meaningful focus for a prayer corner or a cherished addition to a collection of antique Christian sacred art. 
 
Condition: 
Good overall antique condition, with visible age-related deterioration. 
No major loss to the central figure is evident. 
 
Provenance: Spain — private collection.
 
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