Page 206 - The mystery of faith

GREGORIO PARDO

(Burgos? fl. 1513 – 1551)

21. The Virgin and Child

c. 1548–1550
Walnut relief
58 x 36 cm (19 ? x 14 ¼ in.)
PROVENANCE: Benedito Collection, Madrid; Alcala Subastas, December 2008, lot 565

Pardo organized his composition in three concentric circles; the first is formed by the strong
curve of the Virgin’s head, inclined towards that of the Child and is emphasized by the Child’s
outstretched arm which, in a spontaneous childlike gesture, reaches towards his mother’s face.
This gesture is the narrative focus of the work, and is also where Pardo concentrated the
greatest volume in his relief. The Virgin’s enveloping of the Child in her arms forms the second circle,
and, in forming the third circle, Pardo dealt with the challenge of maintaining his tondo-like
composition by placing under the Child’s feet a cushion, which curves to meet the undulating folds of
the Virgin’s mantle. By using such a rich interplay of sensual forms and gestures, Pardo gives the relief
not only formal coherence and narrative unity, but also manages to portray a deeply sympathetic
expression of maternal love.

Two other reliefs attributed to Pardo, both depicting the Virgin and Child and both in Toledo, share
several features with the present work. In one of these, an alabaster relief in the parish church of San
Nicolás, the Child also reaches towards the Virgin’s face with the same open-handed gesture. Equally,
the treatment of the Virgin’s veil is noticeably similar to the one in the Church of Santa Leocadia, and
in fact even displays a similar pattern in the folds (Fig. 1).1

This particular gesture, where the Child’s hand is placed on the Virgin’s chin, had been an established
form of sculptural iconography in the Cathedral of Toledo and dates back at least to La Virgen Blanca,
a fourteenth-century work renowned since its creation as one of the most beautiful sculptures in the
round in all Europe (Figs. 2a, b). No doubt Pardo had been deeply influenced by this work, and had
taken note of this specific gesture, possibly even making sketches to refer to later, as this particular
detail is almost identical to the Child’s gesture in the present work.

Another similar alabaster tondo depicting the Virgin and Child is in the Cathedral of Burgos (Fig. 3),2
where it is attributed to Felipe Bigarny (Felipe Vigarny, Felipe Biguerny or Felipe de Borgoña) who is
believed to have been Gregorio Pardo’s father. Here, the somewhat inflated folds of the Virgin’s veil,
which are lent definition by the cord tying them together, the standing pose of the Child and the softness
of the Virgin’s hands are all traits shared by the present work as well as the two other alabaster pieces
in Toledo.

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