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Lot Essay
Images of the Virgin of Mercy were among the most widespread subjects depicted in Spanish colonial art. The rising popularity of Marian devotional images is in large part attributed to mendicant orders, namely the Mercedarians, Franciscans and Dominicans, all of whom recognized the persuasive power of the so-called “cult of the Virgin” and were instrumental in the establishment of Spain’s territories in the Americas beginning in the 16th century.
In the present work, the Virgin stands, dressed in the white habit of the Mercederian Order, arms outspread, her cloak held up on either side by angels, while the founding saints of the order kneel in devotion beneath. Established in the 13th century, by Saint Peter Nolasco and Saint Raymond Peñafort, the Mercedarians originally dedicated themselves to saving Christians captured by the Moors and held for ransom in North Africa. The order grew in importance in subsequent years throughout the Iberian peninsula, which for centuries had been the site of brutal conflict and religious persecution under Moorish rule. By the 15th century, when Granada, the last Muslim stronghold of Al-Andalus, was taken by the Christians in the Reconquista, the Virgin of Mercy was extolled as a reminder of the Church’s struggle and eventual triumph in the region. During the Age of Exploration, and conquest and colonization of the Americas, the Virgin of Mercy took on new meaning, as guardian of the perilous voyage across the Atlantic and into the new world. By the 18th century, the Virgin of Mercy was widely venerated throughout the viceroyalty of Peru, her image used often in the consecration of churches and religious sites across the region, and also as commissioned paintings for private devotion.
In the present work, the Virgin stands, dressed in the white habit of the Mercederian Order, arms outspread, her cloak held up on either side by angels, while the founding saints of the order kneel in devotion beneath. Established in the 13th century, by Saint Peter Nolasco and Saint Raymond Peñafort, the Mercedarians originally dedicated themselves to saving Christians captured by the Moors and held for ransom in North Africa. The order grew in importance in subsequent years throughout the Iberian peninsula, which for centuries had been the site of brutal conflict and religious persecution under Moorish rule. By the 15th century, when Granada, the last Muslim stronghold of Al-Andalus, was taken by the Christians in the Reconquista, the Virgin of Mercy was extolled as a reminder of the Church’s struggle and eventual triumph in the region. During the Age of Exploration, and conquest and colonization of the Americas, the Virgin of Mercy took on new meaning, as guardian of the perilous voyage across the Atlantic and into the new world. By the 18th century, the Virgin of Mercy was widely venerated throughout the viceroyalty of Peru, her image used often in the consecration of churches and religious sites across the region, and also as commissioned paintings for private devotion.