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Lot Essay
In 1531, roughly a decade after the conquest of Mexico, popular belief holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to an indigenous man, Juan Diego, on the hill of Tepeyac, near Mexico City. Speaking to him in his native language of Nahuatl, she asked that he go to the bishop and convey her desire that a temple be built in her honor on this site. Juan Diego obeyed her command, but the bishop did not believe him. The Virgin appeared a second time, repeating her request, which was again refused by the bishop, who asked for proof of these apparitions. When she appeared a third time and Juan Diego explained the bishop’s request, the Virgin instructed him to gather the flowers growing on the hill in his tilma (a cape or mantle) and submit them as proof. Opening the garment before the bishop, they were astounded to discover the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe miraculously imprinted on the cloth, causing the bishop to immediately recognize the legitimacy of Juan Diego’s visions.
Since the sixteenth century, the Virgin of Guadalupe of Tepeyac has become one of the most sacred images in the Spanish Americas and a revered symbol of Mexican identity recognized by people across the globe. This painting by Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz celebrates a key moment in the history of the Guadalupe in Mexico. On April 24, 1754, following years of lobbying by local elites, ecclesiastical authorities, and the Jesuits, Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58) officially proclaimed the Virgin of Guadalupe’s patronage over New Spain. In addition to endowing her with a special feast day in the liturgical calendar, the papal recognition further legitimized the sanctity of the image and solidified its connection to the territory of New Spain, later the nation of Mexico.
The Virgin appears at the center of the dense composition, surrounded by six Old Testament figures that each offer her a crown, as do two small cherubs who hover above her head. At the bottom left, Pope Benedict XIV issues his proclamation, gesturing to the image of the Virgin before him as if to direct the viewer’s gaze to her. In the bottom right sits a female personification of New Spain, accompanied by the region's coat of arms, who gazes at the Virgin in adoration. Taken together, these figures endorse and underscore the Guadalupe’s new official status following the 1754 proclamation.
The scenes depicted in Rococo frames along the sides and top of the composition serve a similar function, testifying to the Guadalupe’s miraculous nature and her power as an intercessor for the faithful. The four on either side of the Virgin show key moments from the legend of her apparition to Juan Diego, which is further described in the lengthy inscription at the bottom of the painting. The three scenes along the top depict miracles attributed to the Guadalupe's intervention. In the medallion on the left she intercedes to stop a cocoliztli epidemic, in the center she saves a ship at sea, and in the scene on the right she protects a group of worshippers from a falling lamp.
This composition was reproduced by numerous artists in New Spain and exists in several extant versions in Mexico and the United States, including one by Sebastián Salcedo (active 1779-1783) at the Denver Art Museum.[1] They are based on an engraving by the prolific printmakers Joseph Sebastian Klauber (c.1700-1768) and Johann Baptist Klauber (1712-c.1787), from Augsburg, Germany. It was likely commissioned directly from the Klauber brothers by the Jesuit proctors of New Spain during one of their trips to Europe in connection with their promotion of the Guadalupe. Although painters in New Spain frequently utilized European prints in the development of their compositions, the art historian Luisa Elena Alcalá has noted that here the relationship was somewhat unique; in this case the painters in New Spain were using a print that had itself been commissioned by their own local elites.[2]
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz was one of the leading painters of his generation, leaving behind an extensive body of works that includes popular genres from New Spain, such as religious paintings, portraits, and castas, as well as rare examples of landscapes and history painting. Born in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, to a Spanish father and indigenous mother, the artist relocated to Mexico City in 1729, at age sixteen. He apprenticed with José de Ibarra (1685-1756) and soon became part of an important network of painters that would shape painting in New Spain in the eighteenth century. This group, which included well-known painters such as Miguel Cabrera (c. 1715-1768) and Francisco Antonio Vallejo (1722-1785), would later form an informal painting academy in the 1750s in the hopes of elevating the status of their profession within New Spain.
Morlete Ruiz painted the Virgin of Guadalupe on several occasions throughout his career, producing both larger-scale works on canvas as well as smaller images on copper plates.[3] He also produced at least two other paintings based on the Klauber print that are both in private collections in Mexico.[4] Although the Guadalupe was a common subject for New Spanish painters in this period, Morlete had a special connection to the image. In 1751, alongside Ibarra, Cabrera, Vallejo, and others, Morlete Ruiz was given the rare opportunity to join an official committee that examined the original image of the Guadalupe, miraculously imprinted upon Juan Diego’s tilma. Cabrera published an account of the examination, entitled Maravilla Americana (American Marvel) in 1756, which includes his impressions of the image as well as brief testimonials from each painter who accompanied him. They attest to the painting’s superior quality and astonishing level of preservation, citing it as further proof of the work’s divine origins.
Mark A. Castro
Since the sixteenth century, the Virgin of Guadalupe of Tepeyac has become one of the most sacred images in the Spanish Americas and a revered symbol of Mexican identity recognized by people across the globe. This painting by Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz celebrates a key moment in the history of the Guadalupe in Mexico. On April 24, 1754, following years of lobbying by local elites, ecclesiastical authorities, and the Jesuits, Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58) officially proclaimed the Virgin of Guadalupe’s patronage over New Spain. In addition to endowing her with a special feast day in the liturgical calendar, the papal recognition further legitimized the sanctity of the image and solidified its connection to the territory of New Spain, later the nation of Mexico.
The Virgin appears at the center of the dense composition, surrounded by six Old Testament figures that each offer her a crown, as do two small cherubs who hover above her head. At the bottom left, Pope Benedict XIV issues his proclamation, gesturing to the image of the Virgin before him as if to direct the viewer’s gaze to her. In the bottom right sits a female personification of New Spain, accompanied by the region's coat of arms, who gazes at the Virgin in adoration. Taken together, these figures endorse and underscore the Guadalupe’s new official status following the 1754 proclamation.
The scenes depicted in Rococo frames along the sides and top of the composition serve a similar function, testifying to the Guadalupe’s miraculous nature and her power as an intercessor for the faithful. The four on either side of the Virgin show key moments from the legend of her apparition to Juan Diego, which is further described in the lengthy inscription at the bottom of the painting. The three scenes along the top depict miracles attributed to the Guadalupe's intervention. In the medallion on the left she intercedes to stop a cocoliztli epidemic, in the center she saves a ship at sea, and in the scene on the right she protects a group of worshippers from a falling lamp.
This composition was reproduced by numerous artists in New Spain and exists in several extant versions in Mexico and the United States, including one by Sebastián Salcedo (active 1779-1783) at the Denver Art Museum.[1] They are based on an engraving by the prolific printmakers Joseph Sebastian Klauber (c.1700-1768) and Johann Baptist Klauber (1712-c.1787), from Augsburg, Germany. It was likely commissioned directly from the Klauber brothers by the Jesuit proctors of New Spain during one of their trips to Europe in connection with their promotion of the Guadalupe. Although painters in New Spain frequently utilized European prints in the development of their compositions, the art historian Luisa Elena Alcalá has noted that here the relationship was somewhat unique; in this case the painters in New Spain were using a print that had itself been commissioned by their own local elites.[2]
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz was one of the leading painters of his generation, leaving behind an extensive body of works that includes popular genres from New Spain, such as religious paintings, portraits, and castas, as well as rare examples of landscapes and history painting. Born in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, to a Spanish father and indigenous mother, the artist relocated to Mexico City in 1729, at age sixteen. He apprenticed with José de Ibarra (1685-1756) and soon became part of an important network of painters that would shape painting in New Spain in the eighteenth century. This group, which included well-known painters such as Miguel Cabrera (c. 1715-1768) and Francisco Antonio Vallejo (1722-1785), would later form an informal painting academy in the 1750s in the hopes of elevating the status of their profession within New Spain.
Morlete Ruiz painted the Virgin of Guadalupe on several occasions throughout his career, producing both larger-scale works on canvas as well as smaller images on copper plates.[3] He also produced at least two other paintings based on the Klauber print that are both in private collections in Mexico.[4] Although the Guadalupe was a common subject for New Spanish painters in this period, Morlete had a special connection to the image. In 1751, alongside Ibarra, Cabrera, Vallejo, and others, Morlete Ruiz was given the rare opportunity to join an official committee that examined the original image of the Guadalupe, miraculously imprinted upon Juan Diego’s tilma. Cabrera published an account of the examination, entitled Maravilla Americana (American Marvel) in 1756, which includes his impressions of the image as well as brief testimonials from each painter who accompanied him. They attest to the painting’s superior quality and astonishing level of preservation, citing it as further proof of the work’s divine origins.
Mark A. Castro