Mexican Novo-Hispanic school of the 18th century.
"Virgin of Guadalupe".
Gouache on paper.
Gilded metal crown, 19th century.
Frame of the 19th century with faults.
Size: 27 x 18 cm; 38 x 28 cm (frame).
The Virgin of Guadalupe is the most important and most worshipped Virgin in Mexico and other Latin American countries. Since the time of the Viceroyalty, a complex iconography has developed around her cult, and a great artistic production that is characterised by the conjunction of local art with the European artistic tradition brought from Spain. The origin of the Virgin of Guadalupe is from Extremadura, but the Mexican version has its own origins. An ancient legend tells that in 1531, she appeared to a recently baptised Indian named Juan Diego. He asked him to ask the bishop to build a chapel in his honour, leaving his image imprinted on the Indian's tunic. This event became known as the Miracle of the Roses, and was recorded in the "Nican Mopohua", a text presumably written by the Indian Antonio Valeriano.
The Mexican image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is always surrounded by rays of sunlight, an iconographic feature that comes from the Apocalyptic and Sibylline Virgins, both celestial apparitions. Her iconography was also completed by partially assimilating the immaculist iconography, whose symbolism was established in Spain during the 16th century. It consists of a large number of symbols taken from the Song of Songs and the Apocalypse. The crescent moon is taken from the text of Saint John, evoking Diana's chastity and, later, her victory over the Turks; the angels surrounding her, the mandorla of sunbeams, the hands in prayer and the crown of twelve stars, symbol of fullness. In this case, a saint is shown holding out with both hands a cloth on which the image of Guadalupe is printed, which demonstrates the painter's ability to show two planes of representation in the same painting.