MAESTRO DEL ENTORNO DE JACOMART / REIXACH

(Reino de Valencia, S. XV)

MASTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF JACOMART / REIXACH (Kingdom of Valencia, 15th century) "Mandylion"

Tempera and Oil on panel. This interesting and ancient representation of Christ presents a perfectly defined typology, practically from the origins of Christianity. It represents a Mandylion or Holy Face of Christ, one of the first miraculous and sacred images known as acheiropoieta, as they were not made by human hands. According to tradition, it was Jesus himself who, drying himself with a cloth, left his face imprinted on it. The virtues attributed to this type of relic and image were considered transmissible by contact to copies, where they were imprinted. These types of images were widely disseminated in the former territories that made up the Crown of Aragon, generally accompanying, as biface icons, portraits of the Virgin in which Mary appears depicted against a gold background in a bust-like pose, with her head slightly tilted and covered by a headdress and mantle. From 1400 onwards, coinciding with the arrival of the International Gothic style, King Martin the Humane (1396-1410) played a special role in its popularization. Some examples by the painter Gonçal Peris (c. 1380-1451) are known, but Joan Reixach (c. 1411-1486) was far more prolific in the representation of this type of image. Examples include the double-faced icon in the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Pego, Alicante, and the fantastic panel painting, formerly from the Durrieu collection, recently acquired by the Louvre Museum. These works share a number of formal and technical characteristics that allow them to be linked to this style of painting, suggesting that their author may have been a painter active in the Kingdom of Valencia, familiar with the style of Joan Reixach or Jaume Baço “Jacomart” (1411-1461). Two figures closely related in the professional sphere, whose activity marked the forms and evolution of Valencian painting throughout the 15th century. Measurements: 50 x 36.5 cm.