The Virgin of the Macana

 

Unknown artist, The Virgin of the Macana, second half of the 18th century, oil on canvas (History Collections New Mexico History Museum 2012.32.1)

The Virgin of the Macana, second half of the 18th century, oil on canvas (History Collections New Mexico History Museum)



The Virgin of Macana painting is telling the story of the colonization of America and the Pueblo revolution. In tale of the statue, it begins with another statue, Our Lady of Toledo, which is struck on the head during a battle where a Native attempting to destroy it. After it is inexplicable survival, the statue transformed from Our Lady of Toledo into the Virgin of Macana. In the painting itself the indigenous people are attacking and killing the Franciscans. At the bottom of painting of the Virgin of Macana it even contains a resolution to the conflict. Both sides the Native people and the priests coming together are coming together to pay their respects to the statue. Thus, the individuals that died trying to spread the word of God were made into martyrs. The intended audience, of course are Christians based on the contain of the painting. The painting itself might not be historically accurate because of its content and the fact that there were no artists painting the revolution at the time. It was more than likely painted by a Christian wanting to reinforce the word of God and his power. Its is only a painting that is based on a tale or a retelling of a battle.   






: Dr. Emmanuel Ortega, "The Virgin of the Macana and the Pueblo Revolution of 1680," in Smarthistory, October 16, 2020, accessed April 5, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/virgin-macana/.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Throne of Wisdom

Image
One of the most popular images in Chistianity is the image of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. Over the past thousand years the Virgin Mary or The Queen of Heaven has gone for a serious, almost stern faced woman with her son sitting on her lap to a young a beautiful queen holding her son on her hip. The image of The Queen of Heaven holding her son on her lap is also known as The Throne of Wisdom( https://smarthistory.org/throne-of-wisdom-sculptures/ ) during the Romanesque art period. The myth behind the Throne of Wisdom is that in the old testament the Book of Kings, King Solomon who embodied wisdom, and justice had a throne of ivory covered in gold. Like his predecessors, the son of God representing wisdom needed a throne befitting a king. Thus, Mary enthroned herself, baby Jesus appears to be more of a miniature man rather than a baby. He also holds an open bible in his hand which symbolizes divine wisdom. During the middle ages, people believed that these statues were not not s...
Read more

The Ardabil Carpet

Image
Carpets are used to decorate the floors and walls mosques and shines, they are an important part to Islamic art. They can give us an insight to their values, though their unique characters and designs.   The Ardabil Carpet https://smarthistory.org/the-ardabil-carpet/ is one of the oldest Islamic carpets in the world. The carpet gets its name from Ardabil, a town that is north-west of Iran. Ardabil was the home of a shrine dedicated to  Safi al-Din Ardabili , the carpet was made for his shrine. Safi al-Din Ardabili, is a  Sufi saint who trained his followers in I slamic mystic practices. This is when Muslims through direct contact with God can find spiritual love, and knowledge. One of Safi al-Din Ardabili descendants united Iran, the lineage that he created is known as Safavids, and lasted for over 200 years. This was one of the most important times for Islamic art. This carpet is a huge part of that art, it's  amazing, full of brilliant and vibrant colors as well...
Read more

Jowo Rinpoche, Jokhang Temple, Tibet

Image
  There are many versions of the Buddha Shakyamuni ( https://smarthistory.org/jowo-rinpoche-jokhang-temple-tibet/ )image around the world that can be made out of precious metals, carved out of wood or painted.  For instance, the Emerald Buddha in Thailand is made out of jade, the Seiryoji Buddha in Japan is carved out of wood and the Jowo Rinpoche in Tibet is made out of gilded metal. The Jowo Rinpoche is considered to be one of the most holy statues in Tibet, it  means “precious one” in Tibetan. This extravagant sculpture has Buddha sitting in the lotus position and covered with semiprecious stones, pearls, and paint. One unique feature is his electric blue hair.  In its 1300 year history, it has been restored and reconstructed, so it is unknown what the original image might have looked like when it was made around the 7th century. The earliest written description of this statute around the 11th century has the wrathful deity is seen protruding from the Buddha’s nec...
Read more