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Plagues were very common in
Seville in the 17th century, three plagues having ravaged the city in this period, bringing the population from 150,000 in 1588 to 85,000 by the next century. The Hermandad de la Santa Caridad was an institution that has origins in 1456, and dedicated to collecting drowned
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You can separate the artwork into three main planes, in the first you can observe two corpses arranged in coffins, the first is a skeleton dressed in religious garb, surrounded by insects walking across it, and the second is a man covered by a cloak. In front of them is a ribbon with the phrase that
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Juan de Valdés Leal was born in
Seville (1622-1690), and continued working in the city despite constant crisis, mostly painting for churches and monasteries that commissioned religious paintings. Miguel de Mañara, founder of the Hospital de la Claridad, commissioned the artist with three artworks.
160:, believed to have been the bubonic plague brought by a ship from Algeria, affected most of Andalusia and the eastern coast, reaching as far as Barcelona, it also particularly affected Seville as it took no quarantine measures during the outbreak, eventually killing a quarter of its population.
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It can then be deduced that the artwork is meant to represent the transience of human life and the pleasures it entails, leaving salvation of the soul to free will. The elements in the artwork show a moral message to those who see it, and it fulfils the purpose of the
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representing pride, and the growling dog probably symbolizing wrath, and there is a small almost not visible bat above the apple related with jealousy, as it was said that by not being either bird or rat it ended up being jealous of both animals.
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holding a balance, in this case it's the hand of Christ, surrounded by clouds and the golden halo which illuminates them. The left saucer of the balance contains symbols of the capital sins, containing an apple which represents the
199:, covered by a cloak inscribed with its symbols. The soldiers of the Order of Calatrava probably had positive connotations to the artist, for example bravery and courage which is demonstrated by its historic origin, expelling
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corpses and burying the poor and executed, and was among others that were born due to the
Counter-Reformation, Seville transforming into a sort of convent-city by 1671 with 45 friar monasteries and 28 female convents.
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to try and gain more members and dominance. As a result of this, churches started to cover themselves in artwork, gilded masterpieces and statues that reinforced their faith, leading to a new age in religious artwork.
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in
Seville. Its dimensions are 220 x 216 cm finishing in an arc on the top. Both paintings together are also named "The Hieroglyphs of Life's End" or "The End of Life".
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returns the Holy Cross to
Jerasulem in 629 AD. The other two were commissioned to make clear the transience of material goods and virtues, in the style of the
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Finally, in the background, a barely illuminated owl on the left, as well as some skulls on top of various bones, and a third corpse resting on the ground.
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In the first plane, one can observe two corpses. The first is of a bishop, which can be deduced from the fact it wears clothing typically worn by bishops.
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virtues are necessary for salvation." This reaffirms the idea that humans possess the capacity to level the balance with their actions.
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The saucer on the right holds different elements related to virtue, prayer, penance and charity, with the initials
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to make clear that salvation can be achieved by human actions and through joining the church.
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referring to Jesus. The significance is made clear by the text accompanied by each saucer, "
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365:"La Gran Peste que devastó la ciudad de Sevilla, la Nueva York del siglo XVII"
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220 cm × 216 cm (87 in × 85 in)
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406:Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa
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308:"Venerable Miguel Mañara, vida y obra"
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173:gives the name of the painting, "
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393:Ferrer, Julio (30 June 2015).
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371:(in Spanish). 15 January 2018
312:Hermandad de la Santa Caridad
136:genre, popular at the time.
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16:1672 oil painting in Seville
212:Saint Michael the Archangel
156:Between 1647 and 1652, the
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203:from Christian territory.
399:and their likely meaning"
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258:Sic transit gloria mundi
126:La Exaltación de la Cruz
287:sevillapedia.wikanda.es
158:Great Plague of Seville
110:Hospital de la Claridad
337:"Valdés Leal, Juan de"
179:End of worldly glories
150:Protestant Reformation
175:Finis Gloriae Mundi"
427:Finis Gloriae Mundi
397:Finis Gloriae Mundi
281:Finis gloriae mundi
245:Counter-Reformation
146:Counter-Reformation
124:The first artwork,
96:Juan de Valdés Leal
91:Finis Gloriae Mundi
42:Juan de Valdés Leal
24:Finis Gloriae Mundi
433:La Cámara del Arte
197:Order of Calatrava
140:Historical context
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217:original sin
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439:26 February
375:26 February
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168:Description
369:Diario ABC
265:References
116:Commission
66:Dimensions
408:(56): 35.
130:Heraclius
51:1670-1672
455:Category
251:See also
237:nor less
188:Analysis
74:Location
346:5 April
221:peacock
201:Muslims
134:Vanitas
78:Seville
56:Medium
38:Artist
402:(PDF)
82:Spain
441:2024
377:2024
348:2021
320:2024
294:2024
48:Year
229:JHS
208:owl
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