Page 6 - Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain

Section 04. The cloak as relic

Virgin of Guadalupe
Attributed to José de Ibarra (1685-1756)
Oil on canvas
c. 1751
Seville, private collection

The proof of the sacred nature of the Virgin of Guadalupe lay not only in the miraculous reproduction of
her image on Juan Diego’s rustic cape but also in the fact that the cloak was preserved intact despite

adverse environmental conditions. The veil of Veronica was also considered a trace or relic of the divine
because the face of Jesus had been left imprinted on it through contact with his sweat and blood. The
image of La Guadalupana was meanwhile explained in different ways, either as an impression produced
by the sun or as a painting mysteriously executed by God or his angels. On one of the first altarpieces
dedicated to this Virgin in Mexico, a “true likeness” of the Holy Face was also included as a way of
equating the miraculous nature of these imprinted images, which moreover served as protectors and as
means of persuasion.