Page 90 - The mystery of faith

by Cano. The Virgin’s traditional blue mantle, lined in red with elaborate estofado decoration on the
outside, is fastened at the base of the throat with a clasp. The arrangement of the mantle folds, which
model the elegant flexion of the right leg, lends the whole figure a sense of grace and movement. The
Virgin stands delicately upon an up-ended crescent moon, a universal symbol of the Inmaculada
apocalíptica. Cano sculpted another Inmaculada, which is similar in scale, pose and iconography, for
the Church of San Miguel of Olmedo (Valladolid). However, it is not known if he made this work in
Seville or during his stay in Madrid.3

During the fifteen years he lived in Madrid, Cano worked mainly as a painter for patrons close to the
royal court, including the Conde Duque de Olivares. It is also possible that during this period Cano was
employed as art master to Prince Baltasar Carlos. In addition, he painted portraits, religious and
profane subjects which were commissioned by the aristocracy and the clergy. Cano made relatively few
sculptures during his life, this third and final stage of his career appearing comparatively the least
prolific. One work, documented to this period, is the statue of Cristo crucificado (currently in the local
Navarra town of Lecaroz), which he made as a royal commission during his Madrid period.4

In 1652, upon his return to Granada, Cano embarked on his the
third and final period. Here, he received royal assistance by being
appointed racionero of the cathedral, a sort of honorary canon,
who, while having full access to the cathedral and its works, was
exempted from any ecclesiastical duties. Although the ecclesiastical
council had not supported this appointment, they were forced to
accept it upon Cano’s commission to paint the series of the Virgin in
the Presbytery. He began the series and continued his supervision of
the design and execution of all artworks for the exterior and interior
of the cathedral: the architecture (facade), furnishings (wooden,
bronze and marbles), functional–decorative pieces (silver lamps),
and cult images (Inmaculada, Virgen del Belén, Adán y Eva). He also
worked for the city’s convents and had important pupils and
followers, such as Pedro de Mena and José de Mora (sculpture);
Pedro Atanasio Bocanegra and Juan de Sevilla (painting); and
Francisco Granandos de la Barrera (architecture). Cano’s innovation
in composition and iconography provided models that inspired
future generations of artists and established the distinctive character
of artistic production in Granada.

During his late period Cano executed his Inmaculada in the Sacristy
of Granada Cathedral (Fig. 2), a work which is often considered the
most repeated and reinterpreted sculptural image in Spanish art
history. Its qualities as an individual work of art, the aesthetic
innovation, the refinement of execution were both recognized and

Fig. 2

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