MORALES, Luis de
(b. ca. 1520, Badajoz, d. 1586, Badajoz)

Virgin and Child with a Spindle

1567-69
Oil on oak, 49 x 33 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

This painting is typically Spanish for its fervent pietism. The Infant is shown holding a spindle, referring to his attire at birth and at death, the miraculously expanding garment woven by his mother that lasted a short lifetime. The depth of emotion of the image is often found in Spanish religious art of later times.