56 - A follower of ALONSO CANO (Granada, 1601–1667), 17th century.

A follower of ALONSO CANO (Granada, 1601–1667), 17th century. “Immaculate Conception.” Polychrome clay. Base adapted from a later period. Measurements: 35 x 12 x 10 cm. The depiction of the Immaculate Conception reached one of its most refined expressions in Granada’s Baroque sculpture, particularly through the models created by Alonso Cano. His interpretation of the Marian image—characterized by elegant proportions, expressive serenity, and a marked tendency toward idealization—established a prototype that was widely adopted by sculptors in his circle. The figure embodies this conception: Mary appears in a prayerful pose, with her hands clasped before her chest and her gaze slightly raised, standing on a pedestal of clouds adorned with cherub heads and accompanied by a crescent moon—traditional attributes of the iconography of the Immaculate Conception. The spindle-shaped silhouette, with a pronounced sense of ascent, is enveloped by the mantle, whose sinuous folds lend movement to the composition without disrupting the figure’s delicacy and contemplation. The idealization of the features, the restraint of the gesture, and the harmony of the whole evoke the sculptural language of Alonso Cano, whose influence proved decisive in shaping the 17th-century Granada school. His unique synthesis of naturalism and ideal beauty—a far cry from the more vehement dramatic effects of other Baroque movements—found continuity in the sculptors who disseminated and reinterpreted his Marian models. The polychrome clay, worked on a small scale, allows one to appreciate the adaptation of this monumental repertoire to a devotional image. The work thus follows in the tradition of 17th-century Granada art, where Cano’s legacy gave rise to numerous versions of the Immaculate Conception, endowed with a distinctive formal and spiritual sensibility. Base adapted from a later period.