José Campeche y Jordán, Nuestra Señora de Belén, late 18th century, oil on copper, 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 in. (24.2 x 19.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.7
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Nuestra Señora de Belén
- Artist
- Date
- late 18th century
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 in. (24.2 x 19.2 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Teodoro Vidal Collection
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on copper
- Classifications
- Highlights
- Subjects
- Religion — New Testament — Christ
- Recreation — leisure — eating and drinking
- Religion — New Testament — Mary
- Object Number
- 1996.91.7
Artwork Description
The iconography of the Virgin nursing the infant Jesus identifies Mary with the Church. In the same manner that Mary cares for the Christ child, so the Church nurtures its children. Images of the Virgin nursing were popular in the High Middle Ages, particularly in Spain in Catalonia and Valencia. When José Campeche was active in Puerto Rico, Catalonians were bringing to the island artistic influences from the mother country. (Yvonne Lange, “Santos: The Household Wooden Saints of Puerto Rico,” PhD diss., 1975)
