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Virgin of Pomata with St. Nicholas Tolentino and St. Rose of Lima

Unknown

American Art

The town of Pomata, situated above Lake Titicaca in the highlands of Peru, was once a popular Christian pilgrimage shrine. In this painting, Our Lady of Pomata is depicted as a statue--a carved figure crowned and dressed in lavish garments and adorned with precious materials--that stood on the side altar of the parish church. This type of iconic image, found throughout Latin America, is known as a statue painting. A rosary encircles the hands of the Virgin, who holds a tiny doll-like Child Jesus, also crowned and finely dressed. Pearls were among the sensational finds of the Spanish in the New World, and swags of them, caught with huge rosettes, adorn the figure. She stands on an altar, covered with white lace-trimmed cloth, whose red drapery trimmed in gold has been opened for worship. Two angels hold the drapery, while three others appear at her feet. A nun and a monk flank the altar, their hands clasped in prayer.

A verbal description of this work is available through Art Beyond Sight, a guide for people with visual impairments.

ARTIST Unknown
MEDIUM Oil on canvas
  • Place Made: Cuzco, Peru
  • DATES 1700-1750
    DIMENSIONS 26 × 21 in. (66 × 53.3 cm) frame (Framed): 29 1/8 × 24 1/8 × 3 in. (74 × 61.3 × 7.6 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS American Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 41.1275.400
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Unknown. Virgin of Pomata with St. Nicholas Tolentino and St. Rose of Lima, 1700-1750. Oil on canvas, 26 × 21 in. (66 × 53.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 41.1275.400 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.1275.400_SL3.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 41.1275.400_SL3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2020
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