La virgen de las palomas (study) 1894

Arturo Michelena’s oil on canvas study, *La Virgen de las palomas*, presents us with an intimate scene bathed in a soft, diffused light, where a mother and child are central. The composition focuses on these figures set against a landscape that blurs into abstraction through Michelena's expressive brushwork. The interplay of light and shadow across the canvas guides our eye, creating a rhythm that is both soothing and dynamic. Michelena’s visible brushstrokes and the texture of the paint itself remind us of the artist’s hand and the act of creation. This emphasis on materiality challenges the illusionism traditionally associated with religious imagery, opening the work to a dialogue with the emerging modernist aesthetic of the late 19th century. The work engages with semiotic codes familiar to its time—the Madonna figure, the doves, and the lilies—yet Michelena destabilizes these fixed meanings through his formal treatment. The painting becomes a site where traditional symbols are re-evaluated. This ongoing process reflects the ever-evolving relationship between art, belief, and cultural interpretation.