Spanish school of the 18th century. "Virgin and Child". Oil on copper. With Dutch style frame. Measurements: 22 x 16 cm; 39 x 32,5 cm (frame). The painter offers us a scene of very long tradition in the Christian West, the Virgin Mary seated, embracing Jesus child in her lap. The artist concentrates on the two figures, although he contextualises the scene in an interior with an open landscape window on the right-hand side. The Virgin and Child are placed facing the viewer, united in a tender embrace. The artist particularly succeeds in conveying the naturalness of the child s gesture, who adopts a casual and very natural pose, gazing at the fruit that his mother is holding. Since the end of the Middle Ages artists have insisted on depicting, in an increasingly intense manner, the bond of affection that united Christ with his Mother and the close relationship between them; this was encouraged in the Renaissance and, naturally, in the Baroque period, when the exacerbation of emotions characterises much of artistic production.