The Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions

The Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions

Nicolás Enríquez

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

When Nicolás Enríquez painted this copy of the Virigin of Guadalupe in 1773, it was the most widely venerated sacred image in New Spain. Here, the miraculous image is encircled by four scenes that attest to its divine origin. They record the Virgin’s three appearances to the Indian Juan Diego at Tepeyac, near Mexico City, and culminate in the revelation of her image imprinted on his cloak. An inscription reveals that this copy was sanctified by contact with the original in 1789, sixteen years after it was painted and four years after its owner returned to Spain.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four ApparitionsThe Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four ApparitionsThe Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four ApparitionsThe Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four ApparitionsThe Virgin of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.