Spanish Shrine

Frances Hodkgins was in Ibiza for Lady Day, 25 March 1933, which honours the annunciate Madonna and remains a significant day in the lives of the local people. A calm, contemplative work, Spanish Shrine shows two peasant women carrying containers of water and fruit, standing either side of a religious statue, which may be a Madonna of the Well or a local saint. In many pre-Christian European countries, water sources were considered a gift from the gods and with the development of Christianity the Virgin Mary often took the place of more ancient goddesses, as a powerful and protective symbol of fertility. The figures in Spanish Shrine share a monumental, iconic stillness; the statue in an attitude of prayer, and the women pausing from their daily tasks to make their devotions.

As was often her practice, Hodgkins painted Spanish Shrine in England after her return from Spain, working from watercolour sketches while the memories stayed fresh in her mind.

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