Flemish school of the 17th century. "The Education of the Virgin". Oil on copper. Measurements: 41 x 36 cm; 55 x 50 cm (frame). The present work is part of the 17th century Flemish school, in which the religious theme of the education of the Virgin is represented, worked in a completely baroque way. It is a scene in which the Virgin shows Saint Anne teaching Mary her first letters, a theme that does not arise from Gospel literature but from the popular desire to emphasise the role of the mother's line in the human education of the Son of God, a desire that also made Saint Anne the patron saint of mothers. It is therefore a common and traditionally accepted theme, despite the fact that the Scriptures tell us that the infant Virgin was given to the temple for her upbringing. It is an iconography that appeared at the end of the Middle Ages and became popular from the 16th century onwards, with the book appearing as an attribute of Saint Anne from that time onwards. This theme was the focus of intense discussion in intellectual circles in Seville during the Baroque period. As part of the Counter-Reformation doctrine, the Church dictated a series of rules to painters aimed at regulating the treatment of the most fundamental themes of Catholic doctrine so that they could be understood by the people. In particular, the Virgin became one of the most popular subjects among the Catholic faithful, as her immaculate conception was questioned by Protestants. Hence the proliferation in the 17th and 18th centuries of cycles of the Virgin's life, one of the scenes of which concerns her education. Although this theme aroused controversy among intellectuals, because it cast doubt on Mary's perfection, it was very much to the taste of the people because of its human and realistic character. Dimensions 41 x 36 cm; 55 x 50 cm (frame).