Una escultura de alabastro producida en los talleres del maestro de Rímini: la Vírgen de la Peña, en Betancuria (Fuerteventura)

Abstract

During the first decades of the 15th century excellent alabaster sculptures were produced in highly active European workshops located in the frontier region between northern France and the southern Low Countries, in a geographical area comprised by the cities of Lille, Arras and Tournai, and in the lower and middle Rhine. They were small-scale pieces appropriate for distribution to a wide market thanks to continuous mercantile activities. In these workshops sculptures with very similar characteristics were carried out which have been attributed to the so-called “Master of Rimini.” One of the most frequent types was the “Virgin Seated with the Christ Child,” adapted to the International Gothic or “beautiful style” between 1400 and 1440. The Virgin of the Rock in the Sanctuary of Betancuria (Fuerteventura Island, Canaries), corresponds to the prolific workshops of the “Master of Rimini.”