Title

Mater Dolorosa

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

It is the only surviving figure of what was probably a sculptural group of the Crucifixion. The origin of the piece has been discussed, Proske (1970) raised the possibility that it came from Catalonia, however, if we look at the details of the composition we can see parallels with works of the current Castilla y León. Constancio del Álamo and Elizabeth Valdez point out in Gothic Sculpture in America: The Museums of New York and Pennsylvania (2016) that the position of the Virgin's hands is reminiscent of the Crucifixion group of San Pedro de Tejada (Burgos) and the church of San Miguel in Támara de Campos (Palencia). They also point out that the collections of the Frederic Marès Museum (Barcelona) suggest that the popularity of this specific type of pieces was greater in Castile in the 13th century, especially in Burgos and Palencia (Gillerman, 2001).

After leaving its original location, the sculpture ended up in the collection of José María de Palacio y Abárzuza, Count of Las Almenas. He sold a large part of his collection in 1927 in New York thanks to the efforts of Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley Byne. Thus, this piece was offered for sale on January 15 in American Art Association (No. 362) with the following description:

The early statue is strikingly presented in a niche lined with antique black velvet, its canopy formed by the little turrets so much used in the twelfth and thirteenth century sculptures, and supported by slender twisted colonnettes. The Virgin, with hands crossed on the breast, inclines in chaste humility, to hear the angelic message, "Thou art the handmaiden of the Lord." The head, covered by a white coif, is in a remarkable state of preservation; through the bronze tone it has acquired during some seven centuries the cheeks still glow, and the black pupils and red lips combine to give it great vitality. With eyes round-open in innocent surprise, lips slightly parted, the face expresses an indefinable spirituality, and the whole can only be compared with the similar standing Virgin [more mutilated] in the Barcelona Museum of Fine Arts. This statue was undoubtedly part of a life-size group of which the Angel Gabriel formed the missing figure. Even incomplete she is of indestructible beauty and ranks with the best wood carvings of the Romanesque period.

The sculpture was purchased by Ercole Canessa, an antiques dealer and collector. Finally, the piece was acquired in March 1927 by the Hispanic Society of America, where it is preserved today (Del Álamo and Valdez, 2016).

Description

The piece has suffered quite a lot of damage over time: it has lost its feet and part of its legs; it has numerous cracks on the face, neck and right arm; some fingers of the right hand are also missing, such as the thumb, ring finger and little finger. In 1966 a restoration of the piece was carried out where it was seen that it was covered with at least three layers of paint and enamel (Del Álamo and Elizabeth Valdez, 2016).

Locations

• 1200 - XX^th c.

  region

  Possible origin from Castile and Leon, Castilla y León (Spain)

• Early XX^th c. - 1927

  private collection

  Collection of Conde de las Almenas, José María de Palacio y Abárzuza, Madrid y Finca Canto del Pico, Torrelodones (Spain) *

• 1927

  dealer/antiquarian

  Ercole Canessa (C. & E. Canessa), New York (United States) *

• ca. 1927 - present

  museum

  The Hispanic Society of America, New York (United States)