Lot description
Mauro Malang Santos (1928-2017) Green Virgin signed and dated 1975 (lower right) oil on masonite board 34” x 34” (86 cm x 86 cm) This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by West Gallery confirming the authenticity of this lot Many modern and contemporary artists drew on the subject in their works although this history may have been lost on them. This is the same for the subject of the Virgin Mary. Not only does Malang innovate on these subjects by changing backgrounds and varying his application of paint. He enhances them in his works by moving the subjects forward, crowding the frame until it seems they can be plucked out of the picture. His bold, colorful, cubist baroque work is deceptively direct visually, yet it provokes an extraordinary emotional impact on the viewer. Malang’s art, which is wonderfully contemplative, is both an artistic and philosophical statement about life in which hope (and faith) is central to his vision of the world. It is true to say that anyone today who looks at this Malang painting does so as heir to this purely emotional response. Yet it needs to be emphasized that Malang‘s supreme qualities as a painter stem more from his mastery of style than from the sanctity of the subject matter. Malang depicted the Virgin Mary from a completely frontal perspective. He presented the virgin as a straightforward image without facial feature. What prevents the entire painting from appearing too stiff is the profusion of lamps, whose shapes dominate the painting. The lamps surrounding the Virgin Mary look like garden flowers.
