14" x 10"
Oil on Tin
$800
NS
de Guadalupe
(Our Lady of Guadalupe)
In
December 1531, the Virgin appeared to an Indian neophyte, Juan Diego.
In a series of appearances to him, she stated her desire to have a church
built upon the site of her appearance, the hill of Tepeyac, just outside
the Mexican capital. Her wishes were fulfilled when Juan Diego
presented a cloak full of roses that she had given him for the unbelieving
bishop. The cloak appeared miraculously imprinted with her image.
Her appearance was an important factor in the conversion of the Indians.
On the hill of Tepeyac there stood at the time of the conquest a temple to
the goddess Tonantzin. Although a statue of the Virgin Mary had been
placed in the Indian shrine in hopes that the Indians would cease to
worship the pagan goddess, this move was not successful. Then came
the miraculous appearance of the Virgin in 1531 with her dark complexion
and compassion for the poor and humble. She even wore, like
Tonantzin, the garb of the Mexican heaven - a blue mantle dotted with
golden stars.
