Object Notes

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.

The Feast of the Rosary on October 7 celebrates the Catholic practice of repeating a litany to the Virgin Mary while meditating on Christian mysteries through the use of a beaded cross. In this devotional image, the Virgin Mary prominently dangles a rosary while supporting the Christ Child on her lap.

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.

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.

Diego Rivera embraced the belief that art plays an important role in creating social change within a society. His principal career as a muralist depended heavily on his Marxist and socialist politics, views which often caused trouble with people and organizations that commissioned his work.