Lot Essay
The theme of the Mater Dolorosa was a particularly popular one in baroque Spain, and the present half length figure, with its sensitive and highly realistic depiction of the Madonna, fits into the sculptural tradition of Granada in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The work of Pedro de Mena (Pedro Mena y Medrano, 1628-1688) is especially comparable. One might cite both the Dolorosa in the cathedral in Màlaga, and the Dolorosa in the Museo de Bellas Artes, Granada, as evidence of a stylistic link between Mena and the present piece.