Museo del Prado presents the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in an upcoming exhibition from June 10, 2025 to September 14, 2025. Showing the impact and presence of Our Lady of Guadalupe iconography in art on both sides of the Atlantic, the exhibition will include around 70 works of art, mostly from Spain and Mexico, including prints from Madrid and Seville. The art show is sponsored by Rassini.
Historically, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was considered a key religious symbol between 1650 and 1790 in Spain, Italy, the Philippines, and Latin America. Since the image was considered miraculous, it became an important study in the art world to study the beauty and technique while offering proof of divine favor towards the inhabitants of New Spain. In addition to this, it was the devotional sculpture that was most reproduced and copied by local artists, associated with the idea of a “revelatory icon.”
Often referred to as the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, the Virgin of Guadalupe is also a very important saint in the Roman Catholic religious tradition. It is said that in 1531, she appeared to a man named Juan Diego in Mexico. When she appeared to him, a man of Aztec descent who had converted to Christianity, on December 9, 1531, she asked him to build a shrine on the spot where she appeared. The local bishop demanded that Juan must provide a sign to prove that the Virgin Mary really appeared to him before he would agree to build a shrine on the site. Hence, in the same year on December 12, the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan again and miraculously showed him where to pick roses, even though it was winter. She asked him to take those flowers to the bishop as proof that she had really appeared. When Juan Diego collected those roses in his cloak and showed the roses to Bishop, they fell to the floor, and his cloak showed him a beautiful picture of the Virgin Mary inside. Stunned by the miracle, the bishop ordered the church to be built and from that time, the religious popularity of the Virgin of Guadalupe grew in Mexico first and then in several parts of the world.
In the image, when you look closely, you will see the elements from both the Aztec and Roman Catholic religions. The Golden rays of light that shine from behind her represent the sun. On her feet, a crescent moon appears while the rebozo she wears has stars. These three elements connect the Virgin with the indigenous Nahua goddess of the universe, Tonantzin. The position of her hands, her stance, and her gentle facial expression resemble many Roman Catholic images of the Virgin Mary.
The exhibition will explore the image circulation in Spain while telling about the factors that encouraged this devotional cult in the Early Modern Age, the relationship between the Virgin of Guadalupe of Extremadura and the Mexican one, and the role of artists in their dissemination. Furthermore, it includes around 70 works, the majority from Spain and Mexico, including engraved images of the Virgin from Madrid and Seville.
Featured Image: Guadalupe of Mexico; Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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