Devotion was one of the main reasons for artistic production during the viceregal period. The clergy were, undoubtedly, part of the main sponsors, promoting works linked to their educational endeavors and the propagation of faith. Laymen also contributed through donations for the edification of temples, the purchase of candles and liturgical objects used in the ceremonies, as well as paintings, sculptures and altarpieces.
People would also acquire objects for their private use, which could vary in size, quality and quantity. The reasons for the selection of one or other theme are diverse: the person’s given name, domestic devotions, collective identities, participating in corporations, or due to the popularity achieved by an image or devotion at a given time.
Candlesticks, chalices, lamps and other objects for the ceremonies would take part of the religious fervor as much as the images for veneration. Sometimes, corporations or temples portrayed their patrons in order to leave a lasting memory of their devotion and to the institution, therefore, some portraits are also linked to religion.
In this room we can see a display of devotional pieces executed in different techniques, materials and formats. In the same way in which the motives of religious expression were diverse, so were the ways in which the artists would represent them.
