Juan de Valdes Leal, 'The Immaculate Conception with Two Donors', probably 1661

The Virgin Mary, crowned with 12 stars and standing on a crescent moon, looks towards God the Father and the dove of the Holy Ghost, which radiates divine light. Her sumptuous blue cloak is trimmed with gold lace and encrusted with jewels. She is surrounded by flying angels, who bear objects associated with her: an olive branch and palm frond to the left of her feet and a rose and iris to the right, with a mirror, lilies and the crown denoting her position as Queen of Heaven above.

The painting refers to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (the belief that the Virgin was conceived without sin). Much of the imagery associated with this belief was derived from the Old Testament Song of Solomon, once attributed to Solomon, the King of Israel, whose throne is probably to be identified with that at the top of the staircase to the left.

Two life-size figures – the donors – appear in the lower corners. An old woman, wearing black mourning dress and a transparent veil, brings her hands together in prayer. A younger man, presumably her son, holds a prayer book to his chest in a sign of devotion. His black hat (known as a biretta) sits on the table beside him, pointing to his ecclesiastical profession. He stands beside a red cloth-covered table, carefully positioned between him and the scene being played out beyond. It is as if he straddles two worlds, the heavenly and earthly realms, and his role as intermediary is further underlined by his outward gaze and pointing hand gesture towards the Virgin.

Valdés Leal has used variations in light and tone to distinguish between the earthly and heavenly realms. We are led from the dark, solid forms of the donors to the brighter image of the Virgin, and then to the ethereal figure of God. Except for hints of colour – in God’s red drapery, for example – the heavenly realm is painted almost entirely in monochrome and using broad brushstrokes, creating a soft focus and ethereal atmosphere.

We don't know the identity of the donors, but they clearly wished to show their devotion to the Immaculate Conception. On the table lies a piece of paper inscribed with Valdés Leal’s initials and the date 1661 (though the last digit may not be original). This was a significant year: in 1661 a papal bull was issued proclaiming the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, though it was not officially adopted by the Catholic Church until 1854.

The subject of the Immaculate Conception was popular among artists during the seventeenth century in Spain, particularly in Seville where Valdés Leal settled during the 1660s and spent most of his career. Velázquez had treated the theme much earlier, in his The Immaculate Conception painted for the Carmelite convent in Seville, and Valdés Leal’s contemporary, Murillo, was known for his numerous representations of the subject. The National Gallery’s own The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin by Murillo, in collaboration with his studio, was produced around the same time as the work we see here.