The Virgin of Valvanera
- Juan Correa, Mexican, c. 1645-1716
- Born: Mexico City, Mexico
- Work Locations: Mexico
- Attributed to
Attributed to Juan Correa and workshop, The Virgin of Valvanera, about 1710. Oil on canvas; 6 ft. 7½ in. × 57⅝ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2008.832
This Mexican colonial painting is a portrait of a specific statue of the Virgin from the Rioja province of northern Spain. Spanish families often continued their regional homeland devotions when they came to the New World. The legend of the original statue in Spain is seen in the painting. The statue was hidden in a tree during one of the Muslim invasions of the area. Years later, reformed bandits were instructed by an angel how to find the Virgin in a tree with a spring at its roots and a beehive in its trunk. When they approached the tree it miraculously opened to reveal the statue inside. A church and later a monastery were founded and can be seen in the lower section of the painting.
The depiction of abundantly flowing water, elongated forms and spiky church spires in this painting of the Virgin of Valvanera are particularly reminiscent of "The Deluge" by Cristóbal de Villalpando (ca. 1649-1714) in the Cathedral of Puebla in Mexico. Villalpando is considered the most accomplished artist of the colonial period in Mexico as well as a pioneer in developing a painting style decidedly divergent from European traditions and unique to Mexico. Although compositions are based in part on European engravings, Villalpando and his followers moved beyond the Old World tradition by tightening the focus of the composition and moving it to the front of the picture plane, creating a shallow space for the action. They also retained many traits from Mannerism, long out of favor in Europe, such as contrived body and hand positions with elongated limbs as well as diaphanous and surreal textile colors.
-- Donna Pierce & Julie Wilson Frick, 2015
- “ReVision: Art in the Americas” — Denver Art Museum, 10/24/2021 – 7/17/2022
