3 - Joan REIXACH (Valencia, documented from 1431 to 1486)

Joan REIXACH (Valencia, documented from 1431 to 1486) St. Veronica of the Virgin Devotional panel; egg tempera on a gold ground on wood panel The wooden frame is included. Height: 41.5 cm Width: 27 cm H. 47 cm; W. 32.5 cm overall H. 41.2 cm; W. 27 cm (painting area) Thickness: 3 cm including frame molding 1.5 cm panel alone INSCRIPTION At the lower edge of the panel, in Gothic letters painted in black and red on a gold background: AVE REGINA CELORUM AVE DOMINA AN (gelorum) CONDITION Slightly domed panel, consisting of two boards measuring 28 cm and 4.5 cm wide, the reverse side of which is covered with gesso painted orange. Original gilded wooden frame molding. Painting surface and gold ground: signs of wear and restoration; repainted in the left portion of the blue veil. Stamped and engraved ornamentation: original BIBLIOGRAPHY *El Renacimiento Mediterraneo*, exhibition in Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, January 31–May 6, 2001, p. 327, fig. 46G, p. 328 n. 15 (attributed to Joan Reixach?) *La clave flamenca en los primitivos valencianos*, exhibition in Valencia, Museo de Bellas Artes, May 30–September 2, 2001, pp. 138–139, fig. 7.4 (attributed to Joan Reixach) The Virgin, set against a gold background, is depicted in bust form, wearing a pleated red dress, with her head and shoulders entirely covered by a wide cloak studded with delicate golden motifs, beneath which her face is visible, encircled by a white veil draped over her chin. A border highlighting the outline of the frame as well as the broad halo—both adorned with engraved and punched geometric and floral motifs—enlivens the gilded surface. Running along the bottom of this image, the slightly curved scroll bears the inscriptions that form the antiphon recited during the Compline service, a prayer of praise offered to the Virgin during Lent. The style of the Virgin’s face derives from the so-called “acheiropoietes” (not made by human hands) icons present and venerated in Rome during the early days of Christianity, a model that spread to Spain, particularly in the region of Valencia. In 1398 in Barcelona, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the King of Aragon, Martin the Humane, had one of these venerable images displayed; King Alfonso the Magnanimous later donated it to the Cathedral of Valencia in 1437. (See El Renacimiento Mediterraneo, op. cit., pp. 139–142, reprinted.) This gift fostered the widespread dissemination of this model in the 15th century, which can also be found in the form of a double-sided panel associated with the “Vera icona” of Christ. The creation of this devotional image—which condenses the intimacy between the faithful and the sacred figure into a small space—is part of the same artistic context that was dominated in mid-15th-century Valencia by the painter Joan Reixach, a native of Catalonia. Indeed, recent scholarship has attributed it to this artist upon its appearance on the art market (see Bibliography). Reixach was particularly receptive to the Northern Flemish style disseminated through the works of Luis Dalmau, as evidenced by his altarpiece of Saint Ursula—the artist’s only signed and dated work from 1468 (Barcelona, MNAC/MAC 15927), which bears a distinctly courtly character while remaining rooted in the Gothic tradition. This tradition is clearly visible in this “Veronica of the Virgin,” where the ornamental work on the gold background—a very wide halo with plant motifs bordered by a circle of geometric figures—defines Reixach’s style, as do the stylistic elements still linked to the symbolism of Gothic aesthetics. This is evidenced by the figure’s petite appearance, her oval face with precise and pronounced features, the tapered line of her long, pointed nose, the rigorously drawn half-closed eyelids, and the meditative and expressive quality of her gaze. All these characteristics are particularly evident in the *Predella of the Passion* (Valencia, Museo de Bellas Artes, inv. 2101), dated by art historians to around 1450, and allow us to place the creation of our panel around the same period.