The identification of this image as the Virgin of the Rosary is based in the first instance on the fact that one of these objects, the rosary, intended for prayer as an iconographic element, is carried. In this regard, it must be taken into that the rosary and, therefore, the dedication that we discuss, refers directly to the order of Saint Dominic, one of the most important in the Catholic and especially Hispanic sphere. In this sense, let us that its founder Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Burgos, Spain, 1170 - Bologna, Italy, 1221) was Spanish and was first responsible for its dissemination, since it was to him that the Virgin Mary herself appeared, giving it to him and pointing out the way in which it should be used for intersection with her Son. Added to the divine character of the object itself, which favored its dissemination, the effectiveness associated with it was also emphasized by linking the prayer of the rosary to the fundamental victory in the so-called Battle of Lepanto (October 7, 1571), where the Spanish fleet with its allies defeated the Turkish navy, thus stopping its expansion through the Mediterranean and, with it, the imminent danger to Catholicism.
Another point that places special emphasis on the identification of this Museum piece with the dedication that we have pointed out lies in the clear elements of of its morphology with those of the famous Virgin of the Rosary, patron saint of Guatemala (1580, intervened in 1773). In fact, if we contrast them, the one in question mimics its disposition and appearance, explaining the majestic character that it reflects and that is typical of much older effigies, as is the case with the one in question that, at the time, was life-size. Added to this is the particular disposition of the outline of the Child, another of its points of identity and reference, in which the fact is maintained of being dressed and bent over, overcome by sleep and holding a bird in his right hand.
The previous links, in addition to iconography, are also significant in the understanding of our image as a true sculptural portrait of the important Central American effigy; understanding it as an identical or very close version. With a long tradition in Hispanic art, and as part of it in Latin America, the theme of true portraits, where pictorial ones stand out in particular, are an artistic subgenre that emphasizes the projection of certain devotions, mainly related to free-standing images, although we also have portrait paintings, as is the case with the Mexican Virgin of Guadalupe, of which this Museum has interesting exponents. Although the issue is complex, it can be briefly noted that the case of this carving would reflect how those who originally commissioned it must have been fervent devotees of the Guatemalan effigy, requesting a piece that would imitate it and whose small format, like other pieces that we studied in the collection, made it ideal for private worship, ing it and functioning as it would, while not replacing it, in the elevation of prayers and petitions.
To complete the proposal between the manifest relationships, we must note how when drawing the shape of the carving that we studied, and perhaps as a specific part of the order or in the search for the greatest possible proximity to the prototype, it was decided to make it as it usually has been made and is now in its capital church of Santo Domingo. Although it is known that it was made in its of thick polychrome silver leaf, which also includes the body with its clothing, the historical reality is that it was dressed from very early times in sumptuous costumes that were products of the devotion and tastes of each period, to which the placement of a wig was added, as was the case with ours also.
Giving space to the s between the two works put on display, it gives us the opportunity to record how the one in question was interpreted in different versions. Among them would be several paintings preserved in the Central American country and its former orbit of influence when it was the General Captaincy until its independence. Of these we would have examples where she is portrayed leaving part of the original image visible and only covered with a cloak, in addition to wearing a wig and veil. More frequent, but also less ancient than the previous ones, are those that follow the formula of portraying her completely covered. In relation to them and for the sculptural versions, we did not find a historical piece like this one from the Amparo Museum, which makes it a benchmark.
As for its undisputed Guatemalan origin, there has been no room for doubt even before its incorporation into the Museum, a witness to this being that it was included as a work of said manufacture and private collection in Mexican national exhibitions focused on the production of imagery of that country. This is ed by all the points that define this production center, especially since the second half of the 18th century and much of the following century. Thus, we find how the fine carving work on cedar is repeated, allowing the sculptor to execute even the smallest details. We also have the closeness to the usual codes given for factions, although here, and as we already said, those of the model take on weight. Another indisputable element is the designs of textile origin and their execution with an infinite number of varied technical resources typical of Central American painters and to which we give greater place in data sheets of other pieces of the same origin in this collection.
To conclude, we do not forget a complementary element to the size, its crown. It corresponds to a carefully chiseled and fretworked silver work that was later over-gilded to increase its value. This one also takes us back to the workshops of the old General Captaincy, whose products achieved, just as with sculpture, great fame and with it widespread demand within and outside its borders. Taking into its design, and especially the plant models depicted, would result in the chronology that we propose for the image.
Indicative bibliography:
Luis Luján Muñoz y Miguel Álvarez Arévalo. Imágenes de Oro. Guatemala, Coorporción G&T, Continental Fundation, 2002.
Miguel Álvarez Arévalo.“Imaginería doméstica en Guatemala”, Imaginería Virreinal: memoria de un seminario. Curiel, Gustavo (Ed.). México, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, SEP, 1990, págs. 101-105.
--- Algunas esculturas de la Virgen María en el arte guatemalteco, Colección Imágenes de Guatemala 3. Guatemala, Museo Fray Francisco Vázquez, 1982.
Isabel Paiz de Serra (Coordinadora General). Teoxché, madera de Dios. Imaginería Colonial guatemalteca, Ciudad de México, Embajada de Guatemala en México, Museo Franz Mayer, Grupo ICA, 1997.
Monteforte, Mario. Las formas y los días. El Barroco en Guatemala. Guatemala, Turner, Sociedad Estatal del Quinto Centenario, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala, 1989.
Pablo F. Amador Marrero, “Virgin of the Rosario”, Archive of the Word. Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500-1800, Los Angeles, LACMA, 2022, págs. 136-138.
