PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHY OVER NATURAL CANVAS
DIMENSIONS: (15.25″ x 18.5″ FRAMED)
Virgen del Carmen y las almas del Purgatorio / The Virgin of Carmen and the Souls of Purgatory with St. Joseph and the Prophet Elijah
Period: 18th Century New Spain Mexico
Author: Juan Francisco de Aguilera Date: (1720)
Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue
Juan Francisco de Aguilera is considered one of the most influential painters of the second decade of the eighteenth century in New Spain.
His ability to capture fleeting effects of light and atmosphere heralded a major stylistic change that would mark the next generation of painters, this small painting made for individual devotion, depicts the Virgin of Carmen interceding on behalf of souls in purgatory.
According to Roman Catholic doctrine, purgatory is the place or state where departed souls are purified of their sins through punishment before entering heaven.
NOTE: Direct reproduction from original.
