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an image of a drawing of a woman in a dressan old drawing of a woman sitting on a chairan image of a painting of a woman holding a mirror and a babyan image of a painting of a woman holding a childan old drawing of a woman reading a book in a chair
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202 - Mariano Salvador Maella y Pérez (Valencia, 1739 – Madrid, 18…
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Estimate €3,500 - €6,000
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Description
Mariano Salvador Maella y Pérez (Valencia, 1739 – Madrid, 1819) – Prudence (c. 1776–1777) Red chalk on light ochre laid paper. Dimensions: 201 × 263 mm. We would like to thank Arturo Ansón for his assistance in cataloguing this work. This magnificent, previously unpublished preparatory drawing by Mariano Salvador Maella was created for the allegorical figure of Prudence, intended for one of the rectangular panels of the Ochavo, or Chapel of Relics, in Toledo Cathedral. Produced around 1776–1777, it served as the preliminary model for the fresco painted by the artist in 1778 as part of the ambitious decorative programme commissioned by Archbishop Francisco Antonio de Lorenzana, one of the most significant projects in Spanish Enlightenment painting. The art-historical study conducted by Dr Arturo Ansón Navarro conclusively identifies the work as an autograph by Maella and considers it the only known drawing of the seven Theological and Cardinal Virtues executed for this monumental ensemble. The composition faithfully reproduces the final arrangement of the allegory, depicting a young woman seated on a cloud gazing at her reflection in a mirror, a traditional attribute of Prudence according to Cesare Ripa’s *Iconologia*. The delicacy of the sanguine strokes, the confident modelling, and the elegant drapery demonstrate the extraordinary graphic skill of the Valencian painter and offer a first-hand insight into his creative process prior to the execution of the fresco. The drawing is also of extraordinary historical interest as it is a unique piece within Maella’s known body of work, since no preparatory drawings are known to exist for the other Virtues of the Ochavo. It is accompanied by an art-historical study and catalogue entry by Dr Arturo Ansón Navarro, PhD in Art History, dated 10 July 2026, in Zaragoza.
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About the sale GRAND JULY AUCTION | OLD MASTERS, HAUTE ÉPOQUE & FINE JEWELLERY
Auction location
Auction time 07/28/2026 at 4:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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