Spanish school; 17th century.

Spanish school; 17th century. "Fragment of a painting with putto". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. It has repainting and important faults. It needs restoration. Measurements: 28 x 29 cm. The scene of vertical format shows us a little love situated in the centre of the composition, he is accompanied by a group of flowers. It is probable that this work has a deeper allegorical meaning, a second reading that speaks to us of abundance and youth. Allegorical portraits emerged in the Middle Ages with the intention of exalting the qualities and situations of life. Spanish Baroque painting is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and form of expression arose from the people and their deepest feelings. With the economy of the State in ruins, 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 obliged to express the prevailing ideals in these environments, which were none other than religious ones, at a time when Counter-Reformation doctrine demanded a realistic language from art so that the faithful could understand and identify with what was represented, and an expression endowed with an intense emotional content in order to increase the fervour and devotion of the people. The religious theme was therefore the subject matter.