Thursday, October 08, 2015

Pictures of Mary: Signs and Wonders Out of South America

While in Austin, checked out a series of very cool paintings of Mary, part of a special exhibition:  Re-envisioning the Virgin Mary: Colonial Painting from South America, organized by the Blanton Museum of Art. 
The patterns in this one jump out in an almost ghostly manner: both on Mary's garment and cascading over and around her from above. Tiny Jesus gleams with a happy elfin expression.  
Cherubs pull back the curtain as Mary and Jesus ride by, sideways, on an ass. 
Here, Mary hovers in the air, flanked by symbols and icons.

"Created in the modern-day countries of Peru and Bolivia, the 'sculpture paintings' now on view mark the shift in representations of the Virgin from Europe to the Americas. Created by indigenous artists, the paintings reflect and were inspired by local miracles attributed to sculptures of Mary, which could be found in churches and holy places throughout the region. The works attest to the propagation of images of the Virgin in South America, as well as her rise in popularity during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries." From the Blanton's overview, which can be found in full here. 
Mary and Jesus emerge from an object that looks like a lamp shade while priests look on with wonder.

Today's Rune: Wholeness. 

3 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

a couple of those, shall I say, are rather weird. Particularly that last one.

the walking man said...

The mother and child (Madonna and Jesus)in almost every culture throughout history but the Mexicans and south Americans certainly did raise their adoration up a notch. Though my absolute favorite is the heart rending Pieta.

Erik Donald France said...

Thanks, dudes! Agreed on all counts, from the weird to the Pieta . . .