Immaculate Conception

Abstract

This painted wood statue of the Immaculate Conception was created by an unknown southern Italian artist in the first half of the 17th century. The Virgin, with her hand over her chest and eyes looking upward to the sky, is clearly enraptured by the presence of God. The dramatic billowing of her cloak is characteristic of the Baroque style in which the statue was rendered, though the rigid parallel folds of her dress and simplified hair suggest a more old-fashioned artist. The polychromy is only partly preserved. The statue was originally located in the church of St. Francis of Assisi in Matera. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.