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Lot Essay
The oldest written record of the miracle or apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Nican Mopohua, written in Nahautl by Don Antonio Valeriano, a native Aztec educated by the Franciscans, dates to 1540. Other writers have added to the myth and tradition of the apparition of the Virgin to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoazin, a pious native who at daybreak on December 9, 1531 began his journey to Mass and passed through Tepeyac Hill. There, on the same spot where an Aztec shrine for the mother-goddess Tonantzin had stood, appeared a young and beautiful dark girl with golden rays surrounding her figure.
The story of this 'miracle' is part of the Mexican national ethos, la morenita has been part of both the histories of the Conquest and what would become the rise of the Mexican nation. The Virgin is a symbol of the mestizo or the people that rose from the union of the Spanish and the native or Aztecs. It became a symbol of liberation and independence when in 1810 Miguel Hidalgo's insurgents carried her image on their flags.
In this delicate rendition of the Virgin of Guadalupe by Miguel Correa, the figure of a young girl, bathed in almost blinding golden rays, dominates the composition. Each apparition to Juan Diego is included in the several cartouches, explaining the story of her appearance. Depicted are also roses Juan Diego picked and wrapped within his tilma to convince the Bishop of the miraculous apparition. Due to its size, this work may have been intended for private devotion at home.
The story of this 'miracle' is part of the Mexican national ethos, la morenita has been part of both the histories of the Conquest and what would become the rise of the Mexican nation. The Virgin is a symbol of the mestizo or the people that rose from the union of the Spanish and the native or Aztecs. It became a symbol of liberation and independence when in 1810 Miguel Hidalgo's insurgents carried her image on their flags.
In this delicate rendition of the Virgin of Guadalupe by Miguel Correa, the figure of a young girl, bathed in almost blinding golden rays, dominates the composition. Each apparition to Juan Diego is included in the several cartouches, explaining the story of her appearance. Depicted are also roses Juan Diego picked and wrapped within his tilma to convince the Bishop of the miraculous apparition. Due to its size, this work may have been intended for private devotion at home.