Unknown artist, Virgin of the Apocalypse Surrounded by Saints (Nun's Badge), about 1770. Oil paint on copper in a tortoise shell frame; 7¼ in. dia. Funds from the 1985 Trip Benefit and the Acquisition Challenge Grant, 1985.361.

diameter: 7.25 in, 18.4150 cm

Mayer Center, Latin American Art

Latin American Art

This object is currently on view

Nun’s badges (escudos) are unique to Mexico. Invented there in the 1600s, they were worn at the throat by Conceptionist and Hieronymite nuns over the habits of their respective orders. Depicting the Virgin and saints significant to the order and/or the individual nun, they were usually painted on round or oval sheets of copper and framed in tortoiseshell or wood. Many of the most famous artists in Mexico painted nun’s badges, and some are signed.

At the center of this example, the winged Virgin of the Apocalypse is crowned by the Trinity. Surrounding the Virgin are a variety of male saints. Along the left are Joseph, Anthony of Padua, and Bernard of Clairvaux. Along the right are an unidentified saint, John Nepomuk, and Francis of Assisi.

– Donna Pierce, 2015; revised by Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2023

Purchased by the Denver Art Museum 19 November 1985 with funds from the 1985 Trip Benefit and the Acquisitions Challenge Grant. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.