Artwork Details
- Title
- Sagrado Corazon
- Artist
- Caban group
- Date
- ca. mid-19th-early 20th century
- Location
- Dimensions
- 18 1⁄2 x 7 5⁄8 x 6 3⁄4 in. (47.0 x 19.4 x 17.2 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Teodoro Vidal Collection
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood, ivory, seeds, and string
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Religion — New Testament — Christ
- Object Number
- 1996.91.33
Artwork Description
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is an important devotional image in the Roman Catholic Church, symbolizing Christ's all-consuming love for mankind. This special symbolism probably began with a vision experienced by a nun, Margaret Mary Alacoque, at her French convent in 1673. She claimed that during the blessing of the Sacrament on the altar, she saw an apparition of Christ with five wounds shining like five suns. His breast opened, revealing his heart as the source of the light. (Yvonne Lange, "Santos: The Household Wooden Saints of Puerto Rico," PhD diss., 1975)