Important Christmas Fine Art Auction: Haute Epoque, Jewels and Colonial Treasures
Lote 302:
Splendid oil on canvas made in the 18th century depicting Saint Rose of Lima with the Child Jesus, Colonial School of the Viceroyalty of Peru. The Saint, wearing a Dominican tertiary habit, is kneeling while she raptly contemplates the Child Jesus, whom she holds in her arms on a coral-colored sheet. Adopting iconographic conventions common among great figures of holiness, Rosa’s face assumes an idealized beauty, emphasized with the golden halo. The Child raises his hands towards her, with one he caresses her and with the other he hands her a rose. Elaborate composition, where the narrative is sought through the different elements. Saint Rose of Lima was a Dominican Catholic saint canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X. She was the first person born in America to receive canonical recognition of sainthood from the Catholic Church. She was proclaimed the exalted patron saint of Lima in 1669, then the capital of the viceroyalty of Peru and the city where she was born. In the campaign aimed at her early sanctification, the interests of the Creole elite and the municipal authorities of Lima, as well as the court of Madrid and the church of Rome, were combined. Pope Clement X canonized her on April 12, 1671, setting her feast day on August 30. Saint Rosa, called Isabel Flores de Oliva, was born on April 20, 1586, in Lima, capital of the viceroyalty of Peru. Her life was dedicated to prayer, as well as helping the poor and sick. Although she entered the Third Order of Santo Domingo, at the time there was no female monastery of said order in the Peruvian capital, so she converted the garden of her house into a place of retreat and contemplation. There, the saint lived powerful mystical experiences and long periods of spiritual desolation; She also dedicated her time to doing certain manual tasks such as sewing, embroidery or growing roses. Two years before she died, an episode occurred for which she will be widely recognized. In 1615 several Dutch privateer ships docked in Lima. When Santa Rosa heard the news, she decided to gather the women of the city at the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary to pray for the salvation of the city. She went up to the altar and offered to defend Christ in the tabernacle with her life. Mysteriously, the captain of the Dutch fleet died a few days later, which led to the withdrawal of the ships. The miracle was attributed to the saint, and that is why she is often represented holding a city and an anchor. Lot without reserve, inheritance liquidation, important Spanish private collection.
