Arnao de Bruselas (Arnao Spierincks or Spierins) (Brussels, ? - Logroño, 1564)

Arnao de Bruselas (Arnao Spierincks or Spierins) (Brussels, ? - Logroño, 1564)
"Madonna and Child"
Carved, gilded and polychromed wooden sculpture. Circa 1545 - 1550
Height: 95 cm.
As Professor Jesús María Parrado del Olmo notes in his report on this piece:
Arnao de Bruselas is a great sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance, although there is not much documented data on his activity. We know that from 1536 he was registered as having completed his training at the great sculptor Damián Forment’s workshop in Zaragoza. Even so, his very definite style has meant that a large amount of work in different locations in the south of Navarra, the Basque Country and La Rioja can be attributed to him. He appears to have worked for influential workshops owned by entrepreneur sculptors, particularly Juan de Beaugrant and Andrés de Araoz.
It is confirmed that he collaborated with Forment on the creation of the Main Altarpiece in Santo Domingo de la Calzada Cathedral, which was essentially completed between 1537 and 1540, and would have brought him into contact with the painter Andrés de Melgar, who polychromed the reredos, and was a disciple of Alonso Berruguete. Through this means, or maybe through directly contemplating work by the great Castilian master, Arnao developed a style full of vitality and movement, becoming the best exponent of what is known as Northern Spanish “manierismo expresivista” (Expressivist Mannerism), which he interprets with great elegance in attitudes and compositions.
The Madonna and Child analysed here conforms to his style. The way it is carved avoids a straight, forward-facing pose by counterposing the right leg, which pushes the image forwards. This movement is reinforced by the use of inclined folds in the clothing, which fall to the feet in wide curves. It is worth pointing out the red edging on the cloak, used to gather the Child while barely touching him, as a sign of respect for divinity. The edge falls from the left shoulder to the lap and comes in contact with the right arm to again fall on the opposite arm. It shows a search for elegant artifice. This Mannerism can also be appreciated in the Child’s forced posture, in which his legs are half stretched out and make a right angle with the body, showing a very careful treatment of child anatomy. The Child has a spherical head, with fine blonde locks attached to the cranium. Another outstanding point is the way a small lock falls onto his forehead.
The head of the Virgin Mary has a rather melancholy elegance in its expression. She has a lightly pointed chin, fine lips and a straight nose. Her head is completely covered by the headcloth, apart from the curving locks of hair, which appear above her forehead, and which fall into two locks which fall on the face and behind the left ear. The polychrome completes these locks with paint.
The polychroming is excellent and underlines the beauty of this depiction of the Virgin Mary. Gilt predominates on the clothing, only contrasted by the intense red of the edge of the cloak on which the Child rests, which is undoubtedly an allusion to his tragic destiny, as it is a symbol of blood and sacrifice on the cross. This predominance of gold is a symbol of divine light and alludes to the role of the Virgin Mary as the bearer of divinity. Her hair is also blonde. The “estofado” technique is reserved for the outline of the hand and that of the tunic. The first displays vegetation elements repeated in a series, executed with sgraffiti technique. The second is simpler, with flecks on a blue background.
This extremely beautiful sculpture is undoubtedly the work of Arnao de Bruselas, which can be confirmed through the stylistic and typological similarities with other feminine figures and sculptures of infants which appear among Arnao’s work. The way of arranging the headdress by letting some small locks of hair fall free is typical of the sculptor, as can be seen in his depiction of the Virgin Mary in the Adoration of the Magi relief in the Alberite reredos (from 1549), and in his Virgin Mary in the Adoration of the Shepherds in the Abalos reredos. In the same way, there are links with some of the images of the altarpiece of the Church of Santa Maria de Palacio in Logroño (from 1553), as well as the Virgin Mary in the Adoration of the Shepherds, or the Visitation sculptural group, which has a similar profile to this Madonna and Child, with a straight nose and pointed chin. The way the clothes fall to the feet is also similar.
In the Visitation in the Lapoblación reredos, there are equivalent correlations. However, there are closer similarities in the typology of the Child to other depictions of infants by Arnao de Bruselas. The rounded head, with plastered down ringlets and a lock hanging over the forehead, as well as the thickset anatomy can also be appreciated in the angels that surround the Asuncion of the aforementioned Alberite reredos, especially in the one that has a horn on its head. It is the same with the naked children placed on the busts of saints in the Santa Maria de Palacio altarpiece, which are practically identical to the Child with this Madonna when analysed, as are the children which accompany the relief of Charity in the same altarpiece.
The polychroming of the image enables the dating of it to the second quarter of the 16th century, given that there is no work with the tip of a paintbrush, or even decoration of branches, techniques which were introduced in the third quarter of the century. This allows us to date it to circa 1550, if the similarities to the carving of the sculpture with the aforementioned Alberite and Santa Maria de Palacio altarpieces are taken into account.
Reference bibliography:
RUIZ-NAVARRO PÉREZ, Julián: Arnao de Bruselas: imaginero renacentista and su obra en el valle medio del Ebro. Logroño, 1981.
FERNÁNDEZ PARDO, Francisco (coordinator): La escultura en la ruta jacobea: Arnao de Bruselas. Logroño, published by Fundación Bancaja, 2006
One of the Child’s right-hand fingers is missing.