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Lot Essay
According to Church dogma, the last rites administered through the sacrament formerly known as Extreme Unction or the Anointing of the Sick was often the final blessing for the faithful Christian. The world was a precarious realm through which one prepared for an eternal place with the guidance of faith and through good deeds. In this powerful composition, the artist has aptly assembled central figures from Heaven and Earth such as The Holy Trinity, Virgin Mary and a dying man.1
The Virgin Mary, as Holy Mother intercedes on behalf of the sickly man as God the Father, His Son and Holy Spirit await his soul in Heaven. Indeed, one of the angels gestures to the Virgin Mary to help the frail man. Various saints, including Peter holding the keys of the Eternal Kingdom, send their pleas towards the Almighty as their eyes are fixed upon Him Who sits above them in glory. Through his extensive use of banderoles with words, not in Latin but Spanish, the artist creates a potent image that would have been easily understood by the faithful four hundred years ago. Furthermore, the use of Spanish in the scrolls points to a criollo or perhaps, mestizo or indigenous artist with little or no understanding of Latin. Inscribed on these are numerous petitions being uttered by those in the celestial abode who appeal for mercy, including the Virgin Mary, Communion of Saints and a Choir of Angels. In the realm below, those surrounding the languishing man in his bed are also provided with these banners with their wishes for him—both good and evil. Close to his face, a red devilish monster admonishes him that he is undeserving of forgiveness while a smaller bird-like demon on the ground near his bed is ready to pick at his flesh the moment he draws his last breath. A young boy, perhaps his guardian angel, watches over him as he waits for the anointing with the holy oil. Nearby, the Archangel Michael and Saint John the Baptist provide a heavenly guard for his eventual departure. The man directs his supplications to those close to him such as the kindly priest and the two monks at prayer near his bed but also to the Virgin Mary above asking her to defend him from his enemies in this his hour of death.
Although painted circa the eighteenth century, the subject matter of death or as in the present painting, preparing for eternal life, was never far from humanity’s daily life both in Western Europe and the Spanish colonies. More than twenty-five million souls are known to have perished during the devastating plagues that swept Europe during several centuries. In the Andean regions, catastrophic earthquakes such as the one that struck the city of Cuzco on March 31, 1650 at noon, knocking down almost every structure in the city, only to be followed by 1600 aftershocks, were prevalent. Adding to this traumatic seismic event, were the subsequent droughts and crop failures which further burdened the population but nevertheless, help strengthen their devotion to a higher power for their help on earth and ultimately during their eventual passing.2
MJ Aguilar, Ph.D.
The Virgin Mary, as Holy Mother intercedes on behalf of the sickly man as God the Father, His Son and Holy Spirit await his soul in Heaven. Indeed, one of the angels gestures to the Virgin Mary to help the frail man. Various saints, including Peter holding the keys of the Eternal Kingdom, send their pleas towards the Almighty as their eyes are fixed upon Him Who sits above them in glory. Through his extensive use of banderoles with words, not in Latin but Spanish, the artist creates a potent image that would have been easily understood by the faithful four hundred years ago. Furthermore, the use of Spanish in the scrolls points to a criollo or perhaps, mestizo or indigenous artist with little or no understanding of Latin. Inscribed on these are numerous petitions being uttered by those in the celestial abode who appeal for mercy, including the Virgin Mary, Communion of Saints and a Choir of Angels. In the realm below, those surrounding the languishing man in his bed are also provided with these banners with their wishes for him—both good and evil. Close to his face, a red devilish monster admonishes him that he is undeserving of forgiveness while a smaller bird-like demon on the ground near his bed is ready to pick at his flesh the moment he draws his last breath. A young boy, perhaps his guardian angel, watches over him as he waits for the anointing with the holy oil. Nearby, the Archangel Michael and Saint John the Baptist provide a heavenly guard for his eventual departure. The man directs his supplications to those close to him such as the kindly priest and the two monks at prayer near his bed but also to the Virgin Mary above asking her to defend him from his enemies in this his hour of death.
Although painted circa the eighteenth century, the subject matter of death or as in the present painting, preparing for eternal life, was never far from humanity’s daily life both in Western Europe and the Spanish colonies. More than twenty-five million souls are known to have perished during the devastating plagues that swept Europe during several centuries. In the Andean regions, catastrophic earthquakes such as the one that struck the city of Cuzco on March 31, 1650 at noon, knocking down almost every structure in the city, only to be followed by 1600 aftershocks, were prevalent. Adding to this traumatic seismic event, were the subsequent droughts and crop failures which further burdened the population but nevertheless, help strengthen their devotion to a higher power for their help on earth and ultimately during their eventual passing.2
MJ Aguilar, Ph.D.