Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, Early 20th Century, Mexico
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Carved by Renowned Cortes Santero Family?
This is an early 20th century (1940’s) carved wood image Lady of Guadalupe or Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (generally recognized as a symbol of all Catholic Mexicans). It is in very fine condition meaning that there is no damage and has very minimal paint loss. The painting style is called “estofado”. This method is practiced during the earlier 18th/19th centuries, but was apparently still used after that period. The process is started by applying gesso on the wood. It is then coated with gold sheets. The gold sheets are then painted over by the artists desired clothing style. Part of the gold is shown by making tiny cuts on the painted surface thereby making a very fine mesh design of gold and the garment color. Notice the beautiful exposed gold on this piece including old paint wear and the actual design. This combination provides a striking contrast and beauty that can only attained by age. This is how special is this piece. The faces of the virgin and the angel are left au naturel with just a hint of color.
The styling, painting and carving of this piece leads us to believe that it was a creation from the renowned Cortes family of Santeros in early 20th century Mexico. We have enclosed a couple of pictures carved by the Cortes. They normally sign their carvings but this one is not signed. It is possible that the base was regilded and the signature was trapped between the gold sheets. Largest we have seen of Cortes carvings is 14” high. This is so far the largest we have seen.
The depiction of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception became popular throughout the Hispanic world in the late 17th century. One of the earliest and most influential images of the subject was Diego Velasquez's painting of 1618, now in the National Gallery, London. Velasquez used the imagery from the Book of Revelations of a woman standing on the moon with a crown of stars around her head- this one has roses. His image of a peasant girl with her loose hair streaming over her shoulders and hands clasped in prayer spread across the Spanish Colonies and Mexico. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is often read as a coded image. Miguel Sanchez, the author of the 1648 Imagen de la Virgen María, described the Virgin's image as the Woman of the Apocalypse from the New Testament's Revelation 12:1: "arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." Mateo de la Cruz, writing twelve years after Sánchez, argued that "the Guadalupe possessed all the iconographical attributes of Mary in her Immaculate Conception". Likewise, a 1738 sermon preached by Miguel Picazo argued that the Guadalupe was the "best representation" of the Immaculate Conception.
SPECIFICATIONS:
· Size: Stands approximately 16" high x 7.7" wide x 3" deep.
· Medium: Wood, Gesso, Gold Leaf and Polychrome Paint
· Circa: Early 20th century
· Provenance: Mexico
· Repairs: None noted
· Estimated Weight: 1# - 6.1 oz.
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