Joan Reixach

The figure of the Virgin, set against a gold ground, is typical of Joan Reixach’s work. Trained in the workshop of the painter Gonçal Peris Sarrià, Reixach was inspired by his master’s Veronica of the Virgin, now in the Museo de Bellas Artes in Valencia (inv. 406), dated 1405–1410. In his use of a local model, Reixach was following in the tradition of the masters of Valencia. The punched gold ground, decorated with plant motifs, together with the hieratic quality of the figure of the Virgin, associate the present work with the corpus of those rare works that are known from the beginning of the artist’s career, in about 1430. Later, Reixach would absorb the innovations of Flemish painting, mostly introduced by Jan van Eyck.

Here, the Virgin is placed above the script Magnificat Anima Mea (My soul exalts), the incipit of the first Canticle of Mary, recited at the moment of the Visitation.

One of Valencia’s most important Primitives, Reixach is represented in French collections by the Bust of the Virgin from the Paul Durrieu collection, very recently acquired by the Musée du Louvre (inv. RFML.PE.2020.17.1).