Brooklyn Museum: European Art: Our Lady of Cocharcas Under the Baldachin

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Our Lady of Cocharcas Under the Baldachin

This image shows the statue of Our Lady of Cocharcas, a town high in the Andes whose buildings and inhabits are also depicted. As the Virgin of the Purification, Mary holds a candlestick and bouquet of flowers and olives. Both mother and child wear gold crowns indicating that they are the Queen and Prince of Heaven. The baldachin, or canopy, that covers and protects them is another sign of high status. Two angels hold a banner above the scene that can be translated as "All beautiful is Mary free of original sin," making the image one of the Immaculate Conception as well as the Virgin of the Purification.

The text below reads: "The miraculous image of Our Lady of Cocharcas, the year 1765." The painting may commemorate the festival and dedication in 1623 of the church (seen at the right) built to house the statue. The snow, present all year round in the high Andes, falls gently around the pilgrims as they prepare for the religious procession. These lively figures enact events associated with the statue's miraculous powers. A demon pulls a man over the cliff and a Dominican priest pulls him back by the hair; another priest exorcises a demon, in the shape of a bird, which emerges from the afflicted woman's mouth.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Place Made: Peru
Dates: inscribed 1765
Dimensions: 78 1/4 x 56 1/2in. (198.8 x 143.5cm) Frame: 78 1/4 x 56 1/2 in. (198.8 x 143.5 cm)
Inscriptions: Inscribed lower center: "Toda pulcra est Maria et Macula originates / Amilagros / imagen D Na Sa / D Cocharcas. / Año de 1765"
Collections: European Art
Museum Location: This item is not on view
Accession Number: 57.144
Credit Line: Bequest of Mary T. Cockcroft, by exchange
Image: Overall, 57.144_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Collections: European Art: Our Lady of Cocharcas Under the Baldachin