The Revello de Toro Museum hosts a selection of paintings dedicated to the Virgin of the Trinity.

The Brotherhood of the Captive is on the brink of one of the most significant dates in its history: October 21, the day on which 25 years ago the Virgin of the Trinity was canonically crowned. For this reason, the activity of the Trinitarian corporation intensifies, and although various events and cults will take place in the coming weeks, the brothers of the Captive and the Malaga brotherhood are also keeping an eye on another approaching date that will also go down in the annals of this brotherhood: October 25, the day on which the Dolorosa by Francisco Buiza will take to the streets on her Holy Monday throne, in an extraordinary procession, to commemorate that event that occurred a quarter of a century ago in the Cathedral.

Among the events scheduled for this anniversary, two exhibitions stand out. One, titled 'Dressed in Sun', will be held at the Malaga Museum from October 3 to 19, where the attire of the Marian image can be admired, and a second, named 'Revello de Toro and the XXV Anniversary of the Coronation of the Trinity', which is already a reality, having opened this Tuesday in the museum space dedicated to the brilliant Malaga painter, on the central street Afligidos, just a few meters from the Malaga Cathedral.

During the presentation event, held on Tuesday morning, participants included the Councilor for Culture and Historical Heritage, Mariana Pineda, the elder brother of the Brotherhood of the Captive, Mario Ortega, the director of the art gallery, Elías de Mateo, as well as representatives from the Sando Foundation, and the El Pimpi Foundation, sponsors of the museum.

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Members of the Captive with councilor Mariana Pineda and the director of the Revello de Toro Museum, Elías de Mateo.

The exhibition gathers more than a dozen pictorial works representing the Virgin of the Trinity, created by various artists under different styles and techniques, which together offer an aesthetic and devotional reflection on the image of Mary Most Holy, under the advocation of the Trinity, in contemporary art. However, in this tour of the exhibition, the visitor cannot help but notice two works created by Revello de Toro for the Brotherhood of the Captive: the canonical coronation poster of the Virgin of the Trinity and the banner of the Community of Madrid, both paintings dated in the jubilee year of 2000 and the latter, with embroidery by Joaquín Salcedo and metalwork from the Maestrante workshops.

The poster, which measures 130 centimeters high and 77 centimeters wide, was donated to the Trinitarian corporation by the same artist, who executed it in his studio in Barcelona. The Virgin of the Trinity, painted with those characteristic whites of Revello in a masterful adaptation of the carving, dominates the work on an equilateral triangle that precisely symbolizes the Holy Trinity and reflects the unity of the three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Both the Dolorosa, painted from the bust to the hands, and the triangle are within a perfect ocher circle that includes a sketch of the tower of the church of San Pablo and an imperial crown announcing the highest canonical recognition that an image of the Virgin can have. The painting concludes with a censer, in the lower section, and the legend 'Canonical Coronation of María Stma. de la Trinidad. Malaga, October 21, 2000'.

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Poster by Revello for the canonical coronation of the Virgin of the Trinity, used for the promotion of the exhibition.

Presence of Chicano

In the temporary exhibition at the Revello de Toro dedicated to the Virgin of the Trinity, signatures such as that of the late Eugenio Chicano, a high representative of pop art, could not be missing, with his magnificent 2016 poster which features a close-up of the Marian effigy that left the university professor, then Andalusian parliamentarian and presenter of this work, Antonio Garrido Moraga, speechless at how he had captured the face of the Virgin, dressed with a simple lace, without a crown, and giving her purplish shadows for the left side of her face, the color of penance, which combine with the mauve background.

Another work that impacts upon viewing is the one made by José Luis Puche in 2022, one of the Spanish contemporary art artists, born in Malaga, with the greatest international projection and currently with a studio in New York. In this poster for the celebration of the solemnity of the Virgin of the Trinity, Puche shows a profile of the Dolorosa with a very free treatment and a deconstructed script. And from 2023 is the poster by the Carmona-born Nuria Barrera, also painted for the festivity of the Mother of the Captive, where the figuration and a special treatment of light can be appreciated.

If there is an artist who has painted the titulars of this brotherhood countless times, it is Manuel Hijano, who could not be missing from this exhibition with his oil 'Virgin of the Trinity' (2001), in which the image appears against a neutral background to highlight her face, her hands, as well as her headdress and veil.

On the other hand, Pedro Pablo Suárez del Rio, in 'Virgin of the Trinity' (undated) uses especially the golden and bright white tones in the crown and the headdress, and José Carlos Torres, one of the names in brotherhood poster art and follower of Chicano's work, painted in 2019 the profile of the Dolorosa for the celebration of her Day, using golden and white tones that contrast with the purple background.

The fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the current image of the Virgin of the Trinity is also remembered in this interesting exhibition, with the poster made by José Martín España in 2018, in which the Dolorosa centers a composition of high symbolic content, in simplified textures and with the author's own style. The face of the effigy is framed by a golden triangle, symbol of the Holy Trinity, and topped by a large 'M' in immaculist blue that forms the Ave Maria monogram with the geometric element, while at the feet of the Virgin, the legend includes the dates of blessing and anniversary along with the name of Malaga. And as a background, the white color, which evokes the tunic of Jesus Captive.

From José Palma, the poster edited by the brothers of the throne table (2020) is displayed, where he creates a composition under the face of the Virgin, in which a man of the throne appears in a prayerful attitude and is flanked by the towers of San Pablo and the Cathedral, and lastly, Antonio Rodríguez Ledesma signs the poster of the XXV anniversary of the coronation of the Trinity (2024), where a collage that collects various festive milestones of the brotherhood and the neighborhood can be seen.

The exhibition 'Revello de Toro and the XXV Anniversary of the Coronation of the Trinity', which has already opened its doors, can be visited until November 30, from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 20 hours, and Sundays from 10 to 14 hours.