Saint Gertrude the Great (1256–1301 or 1302) was a German Benedictine nun from the monastery at Helfta, near Saxony. A prolific mystic writer, she is particularly known for her Spiritual Exercises, which interpret the Seven Sacraments.  

The elaborate decoration of this statue of the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ—including the painstaking estofado technique of applying gold and silver leaf on her mantle in layers over the paint—testifies to the importance of statues such as this as tools of worship for the Catholic churches in the New World.

According to Roman Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, was conceived free of original sin, the condition of sinfulness and separation from God into which all humanity is born.

This scene of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception includes the standard depiction of the Virgin standing on a crescent moon and triumphing over the dragon-like Satan, yet adds distinctive touches.