Artwork
Último sueño de una virgen
Último sueño de una virgen is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Manuel Villegas Brieva. It dates from 1898 and is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Together, these elements frame the work as a vision of a pious death, in which sacred symbols and celestial beings attend the virgin's last moments.
Último sueño de una virgen depicts a deathbed scene framed by overtly Christian and funerary iconography. A dying woman lies on a bed as the central focus, with a crucifix positioned nearby as the emblem of her faith and salvation. A lit candle beside her marks the passage from life to death, a traditional symbol of the soul's final moments.
An angel appears at the scene, suggesting spiritual escort or divine presence at the threshold of death. The figure of Iris, the personification of the rainbow and a messenger between gods and mortals, bridges the heavenly and earthly realms, reinforcing the painting's meditation on the soul's transition. Together, these elements frame the work as a vision of a pious death, in which sacred symbols and celestial beings attend the virgin's last moments.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 105 cm in height and 120 cm in width.
The composition centers on a deathbed scene, where a recumbent female figure is flanked by a candle and crucifix, with a hovering angel above. The handling emphasizes soft, diffused lighting to heighten the ethereal quality of the angel and the solemn mood of the moment. The palette is subdued, relying on muted tones to convey the gravity of the subject, while the precise rendering of the accessories, candle, crucifix, and textiles, anchors the scene in realism.
History & Provenance
Manuel Villegas Brieva executed the oil painting Último sueño de una virgen in 1895. The work was created on canvas and measures 105 cm in height by 120 cm in width. The composition depicts a deathbed scene featuring a crucifix, a candle, an angel, and the figure of Iris.
The painting is currently held in the collection of the Museo del Prado, where it remains part of the institution's holdings.
Manuel Villegas Brieva's 1895 oil painting, Último sueño de una virgen, is held in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work is cataloged under the inventory number P006356. The canvas measures 105 cm in height and 120 cm in width.
The provided sources do not contain specific records regarding the painting's exhibition history or a detailed chronological provenance.
Overview
Manuel Villegas Brieva’s oil on canvas, Último sueño de una virgen, was completed in 1898. The work is part of the collection of the Museo del Prado. It presents a nocturnal interior scene in which a reclined figure, an angel, and a candle share a quiet, dimly lit space.
Artist & collection
- The Daughter of Jairius
The Daughter of Jairius
El martirio de santa Cristina
The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus
Angel of the Death
Kyynelten tunti (L'ora del' pianto)
Ecce Ancilla Domini
Entierro de San Lorenzo en las catacumbas de Roma
L'enterrament de Sant Llorenç
The Raising of Jairus' Daughter
The Angel of Death
Poem of the Soul - The golden stairs
