Attributed to Juan José Carpio (Antequera, Málaga, c. 1654–55 – Seville, 1710) “The Marriage of the Virgin” Oil on canvas. 110 x 162 cm. We are faced here with a classic example of an “intentional artistic anachronism,” that is, a curious representation of a biblical scene from the time of Jesus (1st century AD), specifically The Marriage of the Virgin, set within a European — and particularly Dutch seventeenth-century — architectural setting. This phenomenon, very common in European painting, did not always seek historical accuracy, but rather emotional and spiritual proximity with the viewer, situating sacred events within a familiar and contemporary environment so that the religious message might become more direct and personal. With a clear awareness of and reference to Raphael Sanzio’s Marriage of the Virgin, our probable artist — adopting a more sober, intimate, and realistic style — depicts this biblical scene within the interior of a church (perhaps a real one), in a manner reminiscent of Emanuel de Witte and Pieter Neefs the Elder in Amsterdam. The painter represents an architecture that is entirely Gothic or classicizing in character, featuring Solomonic columns similar to those of Bernini’s baldachin in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, rather than the architecture of first-century Judea, thus creating a parallel with the interior of the Temple of King Solomon. In the background, the artist furthermore places another anachronistic element, precisely at the vanishing point: the Debir (the Holy of Holies / Sancta Sanctorum), the third and most sacred sequential space within the Jewish Temple, reserved exclusively for the High Priest once a year, and housing the Ark of the Covenant, which may be discerned veiled in aged gold beneath a canopy and curtains. In summary, this painting transforms biblical history into a local and immediate experience — perhaps it was commissioned as a wedding gift by a wealthy patron to commemorate his own marriage — allowing viewers to visualize a sacred event as though it formed part of their own daily reality.