MARY – A MASTERPIECE: ‘The Education of the Virgin’, an early painting by Diego Velazquez (debatable)

 Today’s painting in consideration is no ordinary artwork. It hit the radar and grabbed the headlines in 2010, heightening public interest and art-politics. The damaged painting titled, ‘The Education of the Virgin’, long relegated to the basement of the Yale University Art Gallery, was reattributed to be the work of the most significant painter of the Spanish Golden Age, Diego Velazquez (1599 – 1660). 

Research, healthy scepticism and correspondence followed. The attribution gained international coverage, if not acceptance.  Though the attribution remains inconclusive, the initiation of a discussion on a public platform is in itself alluring. Mirroring the naturalism and the intellectual capacity of the painter of painters, ‘the Education of the Virgin’ does merit genuine research in terms of visual art and faith.

The story of Velazquez life begins in 1599 in the southern Spanish port of Seville. At that time the city was extremely affluent and was the primary port of trade with the new world. It was also a major religious hub employing an army of artisans to decorate its monasteries, Churches and Cathedrals. Velazquez, quite contrary to his contemporaries, was a secular and court painter to King Phillip the IV. His finest mind and his serenest soul embraced life in totality. It is this integrity and fullness that we encounter in today’s masterpiece.

True to artist’ style, the painting is devoid of frills. No landscape, no architecture, no cluttering details. Velazquez sheds off the non-essentials to draw us to the heart of moment. Against the staggering darkness of the room are placed the four protagonists – Joaquim, Anna, Mary and of course the divine messenger who ushers in a heavenly glow that enlightens the minds and the hearts of the protagonists.