Gabriel Joly Workshop (Varipont, France, 15th c. - Teruel, 1538; doc. 1514-1538)

Gabriel Joly Workshop (Varipont, France, 15th c. - Teruel, 1538; doc. 1514-1538)

‘Virgin of Sorrows’.

Sculpture in carved, polychromed and gilded wood.

Measurements with base: 68 x 32 x 24,5 cm.

Height of the Virgin: 54 cm.

This in the round sculpture portrays the Virgin of Sorrows and is made of gilded wood on which the original polychrome is still preserved, although somewhat damaged. The Virgin stands, with a subtle contrapposto position that causes a slight inclination of her trunk, which turns to the left, continuing with the head which is turned over her left shoulder. The hands are clasped together on her chest, palm to palm in the attitude of prayer. She is covered with a cloak that covers her forehead, framing an elongated face with delicate and exquisite features. The cloak, decorated in rich blue, covers her veil or headdress, which is gathered in elegant folds and is visible on her chest. The back of the image lacks decoration, indicating that it belonged to an altarpiece, probably a Calvary.

This carving has a clearly Renaissance flavour, and its style can be related to the Early Renaissance school of Zaragoza and, more specifically, to the production from the workshop of the Picardy sculptor Gabriel Joly (doc. 1514-1538, †1538), with some of whose creations it has very close similarities.

As his biographers point out, Gabriel Yoly or Joly was documented for the first time in Zaragoza in 1515. In the early years of his stay in Aragon he collaborated with artists of the stature of Gil de Damián Forment, Morlanes el Joven and Juan de Salas. He was greatly influenced by the artistic trends of the time, and completed his training in Zaragoza through his collaboration in the service of Forment and in all probability to the influence of Berruguete, who, as is well known, worked on the ornamentation of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist in the monastery of Santa Engracia in the Aragonese capital, which was the burial place of the great chancellor Jean le Sauvage, who died during his stay in the city where the emperor Charles V had his court.

From 1525 onwards he became one of the most prestigious artists of the Crown of Aragon, creating numerous artworks, both alone and with other collaborators which were either well-documented or able to be attributed to him for stylistic reasons, such as, for example, the altarpiece of the Church of San Miguel of the Navarros in Zaragoza (in 1519); the altarpiece of the Church of Saint Augustine (but originally of Santiago) in La Seo de Zaragoza (in 1520), on which he collaborated with Gil Morlanes; the main altarpiece of the parish church of Santa María de Tauste (Zaragoza, in 1521); the altarpiece of the Luján chapel in the church of San Miguel Arcángel de Villafeliche (Zaragoza, in 1526); the main altarpiece of the hermitage of the Virgen del Águila, Paniza (Zaragoza, 1531); the altarpiece of the canonry of San Vicente de Roda de Isábena (Huesca, in 1533); the altarpiece of Santiago in the collegiate church of Bolea (Huesca, around 1535); and the main altarpiece of Teruel Cathedral in 1532-1536, among other creations.

In addition to the documented works, various authors have attributed others to Joly, such as the main altarpieces of the churches of Aniñón and Olvés, in the region of Calatayud.

This prolific artist has gone down in history as one of the best sculptors of the Aragonese Renaissance school, and this sculpture has all the characteristics of the artworks that came from his gouge, which gave shape to sculptures of excellent quality.

His styles have a common denominator in which the elements of his French ancestry and training are evident, such as subtle volumetry of the body, pronounced oval faces with broad foreheads and, in this case, the use of drapery based on wide folds with hardly any curves framing it. These features derive from the late Gothic imagery of the southern Low Countries and the bordering French regions, particularly his native Picardy and Normandy. These elements are naturally integrated into a more advanced compositional system, of Renaissance roots and undoubtedly learned in the shadow of Damián Forment, who gave them a markedly Romanesque accent.

 

Reference bibliography:

-Acerete Tejero, José Miguel. 2001, Estudio documental de las artes en la Comunidad de Calatayud en el siglo XVI, Calatayud, Centro de Estudios Bilbilitanos.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús. 2004 (I), «La Virgen del Oro de Villafeliche (Zaragoza), 1526-1527. Una obra identificada de Gabriel Joly», Artigrama, 19, Zaragoza, pp. 393-408.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús. 2005. «El retablo de Santo Tomás de Canterbury (1526-1528) de Santa María Magdalena de Zaragoza y el escultor Gabriel Joly», Boletín del Museo e Instituto «Camón Aznar», XCVI, Zaragoza, pp. 295-318.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús. 2008. El Renacimiento en la Comarca de la Comunidad de Calatayud. Pintura y escultura, Calatayud, Centro de Estudios Bilbilitanos, Institución Fernando el Católico, Zaragoza.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús. 2004 (II), «La capilla de los Arcángeles de la Seo de Zaragoza (1569-1579), mausoleo del mercader Gabriel Zaporta», La capilla de los Arcángeles de la Seo de Zaragoza. Restauración 2004, Zaragoza, Ministerio de Cultura, Diputación General de Aragón, Caja Inmaculada y Cabildo Metropolitano de Zaragoza, pp. 11-119.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús. 2005, «Arte y arquitectura en Tauste», en Miguel Ángel Pallarés Jiménez [coord.], Tauste, agua y vida. IX Centenario de la incorporación de la villa al reino de Aragón, Tauste, Ayuntamiento, pp. 142-179.

-Criado Mainar, Jesús., Cantos Martínez, Olga. 2018, El retablo mayor de Santa María de Olvés. Las claves del Renacimiento en la comarca de la Comunidad de Calatayud, Calatayud, Centro de Estudios Bilbilitanos.

-Morte García, Carmen. 1987«Documentos sobre pintores y pintura del siglo XVI en Aragón. I», Boletín del Museo e Instituto «Camón Aznar», XXX, Zaragoza, p. 169, doc. n.º 51, y p. 170.

-Morte García, Carmen. 1991.«Carlos I y los artistas de corte en Zaragoza: Fancelli, Berruguete y Bigary», Archivo Español de Arte, 255, Madrid, pp. 317-335.

-Morte García, Carmen. 2001 «La llegada del Renacimiento a la escultura aragonesa: de Fernando el Católico a Carlos V», en Ernest Belenguer Cebriá [ed.], De la unión de coronas al Imperio de Carlos V, Madrid, Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Felipe II y Carlos V, 2001, vol. III, p. 104.

-Morte García, Carmen. 2003. «Renacimiento», en Margarita Castillo Montolar [coord.], Tesoros artísticos de la villa de Tauste, Zaragoza. Parroquia de Santa María de Tauste, 2003, pp. 53-57.

-Serrano Gracia, Raquel. 1993. «Joly, Gabriel (doc. 1514-1538, †1538)», en M.ª Isabel Álvaro Zamora y Gonzalo M. Borrás Gualis [coords.], La escultura del Renacimiento en Aragón, Zaragoza, Museo e Instituto «Camón Aznar», p. 210.

-Serrano Gracia, Raquel, et alii. 1988. «Gabriel Joly y la corriente escultórica francesa», Actas del V Coloquio de Arte Aragonés, Zaragoza, Diputación General de Aragón, p. 116.

-Serrano Gracia, Raquel. 1994. «El retablo mayor de Aniñón. Documentos y notas», Armantes. I, Aniñón, Asociación Cultural y Centro de Estudios Armantes, pp. 5-30.