The Last Communion of Saint Mary of Egypt

The two monumental figures express both gravity and a powerful naturalism, with the meditative Saint Zosimas about to administer communion to the kneeling Mary of Egypt, whose tear-streaked face conveys her emotion. Aside from the lighting and the characterisation of the figures, Orrente lingers on precise details such as the gilt-copper chalice, the draperies and the oak branch at the top of the composition. The colouristic, bucolic landscape once again looks to models by the Bassanos that Orrente used in his more commercial series…