Spanish school; XVII century."Virgin".Oil on copper.Presents adapted frame.Measures: 18 x 14 cm; 29 x 26 cm (frame).The image of Mary stands out against an indeterminate dark background. The Virgin appears wearing a very simple nimbus and a white veil, which completely hides her hair. Represented very young, she bows her head, lowering her gaze and thus emphasizing the virtue of humility. The fineness of her features and the beauty of her proportions stand out, and are highlighted even more thanks to the focus of white light that is centered on Mary's face.Spanish baroque painting is one of the most authentic and personal examples of art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and the deepest feelings that nestled in them. With the economy of the State broken, the nobility in decline and the high clergy burdened with heavy taxes, it was the monasteries, parishes and confraternities of clerics and laymen who promoted its development, the works sometimes being financed by popular subscription. Sculpture was thus compelled to embody the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when the counter-reformist doctrine demanded from art a realistic language so that the faithful would understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content to increase the fervor and devotion of the people. The religious subject is, therefore, the preferred theme of Spanish painting of this period, which in the first decades of the century starts from a priority interest in capturing the natural, to progressively intensify throughout the century the expression of expressive values, which is achieved through the movement and variety of gestures, the use of light resources and the representation of moods and feelings.