Anonymous, 1720 - Virgin of Bethlehem (Virgin of Bethlehem) - fine art print

Original artwork description by Los Angeles County Museum of Art (© - by Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

This painting is a fine example of a colonial statue painting. Statue paintings represent sculpted images of Mary, or other religious figures, in their altars. Many of these paintings were believed to share the divine power of the sacred sculpture. The Virgin of Belén is one of the most revered sculptures of Cuzco and a star of the famous Corpus Christi procession that takes place every year in that city. Legend has it that in the sixteenth century a group of fisherman found a wooden box floating in a lake near the town of San Miguel. Upon opening the box, they discovered a beautifully carved image of the Virgin Mary along with a note stating that she was a gift to the city of Cuzco. News of the miracle spread quickly as various churches vied to have her in their sanctuary. She was granted to the Church of the Reyes Magos which thereafter changed its name to that of Our Lady of Belén (the name inscribed on the note with which she was found). The Virgin, affectionately known today as "Mamacha" (Our beloved mother), soon began to perform all sorts of miracles becoming one of the most revered and reproduced images of the Cuzco School.

In this painting the richly dressed and bejeweled Virgin is portrayed atop her altar in the rigid frontal pose characteristic of statue paintings. A bundled up Christ child is equally lavishly dressed. Two charming putti are shown pulling the curtains open to display the holy image. The profusion of brocateado, a technique of applying gold leaf ornamentation to the surface of the canvas, provides a unique shimmer and texture to the painting. This technique was widely used throughout the Hispanic world but it is most closely associated with Cuzco, especially after native artists withdrew from the Spanish-dominated guild in 1688 and developed their own pictorial style, known as the Cuzco School.

Ilona Katzew, 2009

Detailed information about the print product

This classic art artwork was made by the painter Anonymous in the year 1720. Today, this work of art belongs to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's art collection in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. With courtesy of: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (www.lacma.org) (license: public domain).Creditline of the artwork: . Further, the alignment of the digital reproduction is portrait with a ratio of 2 : 3, meaning that the length is 33% shorter than the width.

Obtain your material variant

For every product we offer different sizes & materials. We allow you to pick your favorite size and material among the following product individualization options:

• Printed poster on canvas material: The poster print is a printed sheet of canvas with a fine surface structure. Please keep in mind, that depending on the absolute size of the poster print we add a white margin 2-6cm round about the painting to facilitate the framing.
• Aluminium dibond: An Aluminium Dibond print is a print material with an outstanding depth effect. The colors are bright and vivid, the fine details are crisp.
• Canvas print: The UV printed canvas material mounted on a wood frame. A canvas creates the extra effect of three-dimensionality. Hanging your canvas print: Canvas Prints have the great advantage of being low in weight, meaning that it is easy and straightforward to hang the Canvas print without the help of extra wall-mounts. Hence, canvas prints are suited for any type of wall.
• Acrylic glass print: The acrylic glass print, often named a print on plexiglass, will transform your favorite original artwork into magnificient décor. Your work of art is made with state-of-the-art UV direct print technology.

The painter

Artwork information

Structured item details

Legal disclaimer: We try all that we can in order to depict the products as clearly as possible and to display them visually in our shop. Nonetheless, the colors of the printed materials and the printing can diverge somehwat from the image on your monitor. Depending on your settings of your screen and the condition of the surface, colors may not be printed as realistically as the digital version. In view of the fact that the are processed and printed manually, there might as well be minor variations in the size and exact position of the motif.

© Copyright of, www.artprinta.com (Artprinta)