Oil painting, 'The Virgin and Child', copy by A. Finardi after Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 19th century

A young woman sits on a parapet with her child on her lap, a ruined wall is on the left and a grey cloudy sky in the background.

Bequeathed by Joshua Dixon

Bequeathed by Joshua Dixon, 1886
Ref: Parkinson, Ronald, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, (Victoria & Albert Museum, HMSO, London, 1990), p.xx.
Joshua Dixon (1811-1885), was the son of Abraham Dixon of Whitehaven and brother of George Dixon (who was head of the foreign merchants firm of Rabone Brothers in Birmingham 1883-98). Educated at Leeds Grammar School, and was deputy chairman of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway Company 1869-70. Died Winslade, near Exeter, 7 December 1885. Bequeathed all his collection of drawings, watercolours and oil paintings to the Bethnal Green Museum; they have since been transferred to the V&A. He also collected engravings, Japanese vases and panels, and bronze and marble sculpture.

Historical significance: This painting is a copy after Murillo's Madonna with Child, currently housed in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. It shows the Madonna and Child with a ruined wall on the left hand-side and a cloudy sky in the background. The painting slightly differs from the original version in which the ruined wall appears much more defined. The brushstroke looks smoother and flatter whereas Murillo's vibrant brushwork provides the original picture with greater depth and relief enhanced by a subtle play of light. The overall glossy look of 1078-1886 is typical of the 19th century. The painting is signed Alessandro Finardi and was probably painted after the original when already in Rome during the 19th century. Unfortunately very little is known about the copyist who may have reproduced the painting for training purposes as it was part of the teaching methods of the academies of fine art.
Murillo was the foremost artist of the theme of the Virgin and Child in Spain where people developed a particular devotion to the Virgin. In the original composition Murillo combined the religious content with his predilection for depicting childhood. The noticeable absence of Christian symbols enhances the naturalism of the scene, a trend that was probably deriving from the influence of the Flemish art in Spain during the 17th century.
In doing so, Murillo granted direct access to the divinity no longer mediated by the customary symbols (plants, fruits, animals) which pervaded representations of the Virgin and Child since the Middle ages. The Virgin and Child are thus presented as a normal and common mother with her child, no signs of their divinity (such as halo) being visible. This shift happened towards the 1660s when Murillo introduced a sense of maternal affection and humanity in his compositions, probably influenced by his scenes of childhood. The nocturnal atmosphere of the grey cloudy background conveys however a sense of mystery, which recalls the mystical significance of the Catholic dogma. The original painting was probably executed for private use in the domestic interior, where the dwelling's members would gather and meditate in prayer before the picture.

Objects and images were used for protection, intercession and as votive offerings since Antiquity. Amulets, rings and talismans were common throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and often had pagan and erotic imagery. Popular images were also produced expressly for the purpose of intercession, protection and instruction. In particular the Virgin, Christ and the saints were depicted, for they were considered to be advocates before God and agents of protection against evil. Christians in the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods expressed and strengthened their faith through public rituals, such as celebration of the Eucharist, and personal devotions conducted in a private chapel, monastic cell, or simply in a secluded part of their home. In Western Europe, a form of spirituality that emphasized the emotional involvement of the faithful emerged by 1300. Believers were encouraged to contemplate events from the life of Christ, the Virgin, or the saints, as if they were present. Images of the Virgin and Child were among the most popular images for private devotion and these were primarily small religious paintings suitable as a focus for private worship, as opposed to larger altarpieces intended for public display. Such images frequently emphasized the tender relationship between the mother and her child.

Bartolomé Estebán Murillo (1617/18-1682) was born in Seville where he probably trained in the studio of Juan del Castillo (ca.1590-ca.1657). He received many commissions and worked especially for the religious orders but was also a renowned portrait painter. He may have undertaken a journey to Madrid where he could have met Diego Velazquez (1599-1660) however this cannot be confirmed. He died a few months after he fell from the scaffoldings in the church of the Capuchines in Cádiz, whilst still painting the main altarpiece.

This painting is a copy after a composition by the Spanish Baroque painter Murillo, currently housed in the Galleria Borghese, Rome. It shows the Virgin and Child in a very naturalistic manner with no apparent sign of their divinity. This new formula was probably influenced by both Flemish art and Murillo's taste for scenes of childhood. This painting is a good example of the new naturalism which developed in Spain during the 17th century and was probably destined to private devotion.

1078-1886