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La Virgen del pilar
late 18th century
José Campeche y Jordán
Born: San Juan, Puerto Rico 1751
Died: San Juan, Puerto Rico 1809
oil on canvas mounted to board
23 x 16 7/8 in. (58.4 x 42.9 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Teodoro Vidal Collection
1996.91.8
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center
Devotion to the Virgin is an important element of Puerto Rican Catholicism. The Madonna is venerated in many guises, each with its own iconography. According to Spanish legend, the apostle James, patron saint of Spain, saw a vision of the Virgin Mary one night while he was praying on the banks of the Ebro at Saragoza. Mary asked for a church to be built on that spot. The church, Santa Maria la Mayor, was erected along with a statue of the Virgin mounted on a marble pillar. By 1456, the term Virgen del Pilar was so common among Catholics that Pope Calixtus III confirmed the name by papal decree. (Yvonne Lange, "Santos: The Household Wooden Saints of Puerto Rico," PhD diss., 1975)
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Architecture - detail - column
Religion - angel
Religion - New Testament - Christ
Religion - New Testament - Mary
painting
paint - oil
fabric - canvas
wood
About José Campeche y Jordán
Born: San Juan, Puerto Rico 1751 Died: San Juan, Puerto Rico 1809
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