Virgin of the Apocalypse

1689

Correa, Juan (1646-1716)

Tepotzotlán, MEX, Museo Nacional del Virreinato (current location)

In this painting from New Spain, the renowned painter Juan Correa follows standard iconography of the Virgin Mary, set out in the Book of Revelation (also called the Book of the Apocalypse) to depict the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. The Bible describes a woman who was identified with Mary, “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1) who “gave birth to a son—a boy destined to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod” (12:4).

The Virgin of the Apocalypse or Immaculate Conception is identifiable by her crown of twelve stars and the moon under her feet. Following the account of Revelation, the archangel Michael stands ready to do battle with the seven-headed dragon beneath their feet, laying a protective hand on the Virgin’s dovelike-wings. Above, the baby Jesus is carried into heaven and presented to God the Father by two angels, one dressed in a blue robe, the other in orange.

Juan Correa was one of the leading painters in New Spain in the late 17th and early 18th century. Born in Mexico, he was a “casta,” or biracial: his mother was a free black woman, and his father a mulatto doctor. Like many painters, Correa had others in his family who also painted, including his brother, nephews and grandsons.

This painting is oil on canvas. Juan Correa’s paintings, like those of his contemporary Cristóbal de Villalpando, are marked by luminous colors, sinuous lines, and idealized faces and figures. It is a large work, measuring 92 ¼ x 49 inches (234 by 124 cm).

The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was a popular subject in both Spain and New Spain, the doctrine finding ardent supporters among Franciscans and Jesuits. Today this painting hangs in the Museo Nacional del Virreinato, the largest museum of colonial art in Mexico.

As intercessor between human beings and God, the Virgin was a particular focus of visual culture in Spanish America. The Apocalypse, the end of the world as Christians knew it, was represented from a variety of perspectives: some images stressed St. John and the beast, others the Virgin Mary. Correa’s painting participates in this tradition with a mainstream view of apocalyptic iconography. Consequently, the imagery here would have been familiar to educated Christians in New Spain. For such Christians, this Virgin—standing on the moon—would have also resonated with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Virgin particular to the New World and its indigenous people.

Museo Nacional del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán. Do not duplicate. Used by permission of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico; all rights reserved.

Dana Leibsohn and Barbara E. Mundy.
Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820. http://www.fordham.edu/vistas, 2015.

Vargaslugo, Elisa, José Guadalupe Victoria and Gustavo Curiel. 1985. Juan Correa, su vida, su obra. 4 vols. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Visiones Apocalípticas: Cambio y regeneración. Siglos XVI al XX. 2000. Tepotzotlán: Museo Nacional del Virreinato.