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拍品專文
The Immaculate Conception refers to the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was born without sin. Though it was a widely contested topic during the Middle Ages, today the Virgin’s immaculacy stands as dogma of the Catholic Church. The proliferation of images of the Immaculate Conception on a grand scale occurred during the Baroque era (1600 to 1750). Indeed, the Virgin Mary was the Roman Catholic Church’s most potent visual emblem during the Counter-Reformation, a period of great spiritual revival which sparked a remarkable and exuberant artistic production in Western Europe. The Immaculate Conception was ardently supported and celebrated by the Spanish crown, and artists such as Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Zurbarán and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo played a central role in disseminating an iconography that followed the teachings of the Church throughout Spain’s vast empire in Europe, the Americas, and as far as Asia.
The present image, painted in Peru and likely dating to the late 17th or early 18th century, follows the traditional iconography of the Immaculate Conception fairly faithfully to European models, but with the addition of some distinctly new world-touches. Here, the Virgin Mary is depicted as a young woman, a blue mantle draped over her red (or often times, white) tunic, hands clasped in piety, standing upon a crescent moon. Surrounding the image of the Virgin are symbols of her purity and divinity: roses and lilies, and a speculum sine macula, or mirror that reflects God’s eternal light. A halo of golden rays surrounds the Virgin’s head and her entire being appears bathed in light from the Heavens. An exquisite application of gold paint decorates the Virgin’s garments. This technique, called brocetado, borrowed from the polychrome and gilt sculptures that would have decorated altars throughout the region, was particularly celebrated among the Cuzco School painters. Here, an intricate, lace-like design covers the Virgin’s mantle and her tunic is studded beautifully with gold flowers.
In the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was a particularly popular image. As Heavenly Mother and Queen of the Heavens and Earth, the Virgin Mary drew a powerful association to ancient Inca deities, namely Mama Ocllo, goddess of fertility and Mama Quilla, the moon goddess, both of whom were widely revered among the local population. Pictured in the present image alongside the Virgin Mary, is Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order, and Saint Anthony of Padua, perhaps the second most-venerated saint of the Order. The Franciscans were fervent supporters of the Virgin's immaculacy and moreover were integral to the evangelization of much of Spain’s empire in the Americas.
The present image, painted in Peru and likely dating to the late 17th or early 18th century, follows the traditional iconography of the Immaculate Conception fairly faithfully to European models, but with the addition of some distinctly new world-touches. Here, the Virgin Mary is depicted as a young woman, a blue mantle draped over her red (or often times, white) tunic, hands clasped in piety, standing upon a crescent moon. Surrounding the image of the Virgin are symbols of her purity and divinity: roses and lilies, and a speculum sine macula, or mirror that reflects God’s eternal light. A halo of golden rays surrounds the Virgin’s head and her entire being appears bathed in light from the Heavens. An exquisite application of gold paint decorates the Virgin’s garments. This technique, called brocetado, borrowed from the polychrome and gilt sculptures that would have decorated altars throughout the region, was particularly celebrated among the Cuzco School painters. Here, an intricate, lace-like design covers the Virgin’s mantle and her tunic is studded beautifully with gold flowers.
In the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was a particularly popular image. As Heavenly Mother and Queen of the Heavens and Earth, the Virgin Mary drew a powerful association to ancient Inca deities, namely Mama Ocllo, goddess of fertility and Mama Quilla, the moon goddess, both of whom were widely revered among the local population. Pictured in the present image alongside the Virgin Mary, is Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order, and Saint Anthony of Padua, perhaps the second most-venerated saint of the Order. The Franciscans were fervent supporters of the Virgin's immaculacy and moreover were integral to the evangelization of much of Spain’s empire in the Americas.