(gentle music)
- [Narrator 1] We're here in Chicago
at the Thoma Foundation,
standing in front of a painting from 18th-century Peru,
that's showing the child Mary spinning
as she looks out at us
and I feel compelled to return her gaze.
- [Narrator 2] She stares out at us from a chair,
holding a spindle and distaff, and around her wrist,
she has choral bracelets.
At the center of her chest is a broach
with the anagram of her name.
She's wearing beautifully elaborate garments
with gold embroidery and delicate lace
edging on the sleeves.
Surrounding her is a border of flowers and birds.
The story comes from non-canonical biblical texts
known as the Apocrypha.
In those stories, we find out that
Mary was taken to the temple by her parents,
where she was raised in seclusion
and devoted her time to reading and prayer
and to spinning cloth.
And in one episode, Mary is visited by the angel Gabriel
while she is spinning a cloth for the temple.
And he announces that she will conceive the Christ Child.
- [Narrator 1] And it's fascinating
how much attention the artist here has paid
to the different textiles.
Look at the cape that's fastened by that broach.
It is a brownish gray,
and it's decorated with these red and black designs
bordered by this golden lace-like embroidery.
And then she has these marvelous big puffy sleeves
that also have lace on the edges.
And then she has a fitted red bodice
that's laced up the center,
also decorated with golden embroidery.
And then her skirt is a completely different
style of textile.
And it's filled with more elaborate floral designs
in silvers and reds and an ochre color.
And look at her hair.
It's perfectly held in place by this elaborate headband
that is adorned with pearls and emeralds,
and also has a red bow on it.
I just love that there's this one curl
that comes down onto her forehead and curves back upwards.
That reminds me of children and how they inevitably
always seem to have some hair out of place.
- [Narrator 2] Emanating from her is this halo
with 12 golden stars.
- [Narrator 1] Look at the Virgin's face.
You can barely see any of the breaststrokes.
It's been relatively smooth out.
She has this almost waxed-like quality to her skin
that offsets her eyes, and it's striking.
- [Narrator 2] In that floral border, you can see
carnations, lilies, roses, tulips,
and these flowers are not just placed there
for ornamental value,
but they also signal Mary's virtues,
her purity, her humility, her sacrifice.
- [Narrator 1] The floral border derives from
Flemish paintings, say the works by Peter Paul Rubens.
- [Narrator 2] The bottom half of her body
doesn't seem to take up very much space.
She's sitting in this chair awkwardly.
- [Narrator 1] And this type of chair
called the friar's chair, was often used in paintings
to signify someone of importance.
That she is seated in it is a way of
demonstrating her significance.
Now, the pose that you mentioned that does look odd.
It almost looks like she doesn't have knees
or that you can't get a sense of her body
is because this is one of many different versions
of this type of painting that were based on a prototype
where this pose comes from.
All the different versions showing the scene,
both in the Spanish Americas as well as in Spain,
often show the Virgin Mary's body in this way.
- [Narrator 2] And if you look at the friar's chair,
you'll also notice that like the textiles
on Mary's garments,
it's beautifully adorned with these gold designs,
called brocateado.
It refers to this gold embellishment that was used widely
in the Cusco School in the 18th century.
And it's interesting because we do see many examples
of this in Spain and the 17th and 18th centuries.
And we see it in Peru, but we don't see it elsewhere
in Latin America.
And we might wonder why that is.
And one possible reason for that is because of the textiles
and the process of spinning itself.
There's a long and rich history of textile traditions
in the Andes that continued through the Inca period.
And some of the elements in Mary's costume might relate to,
or be interpreted by indigenous viewers
as relating to that tradition.
- [Narrator 1] Textiles were more valuable than gold.
They were one of the most important indicators of status.
They would even use textiles to wrap objects
or natural elements as a way to reinforce their sacredness,
their divine essence.
And so that we see here, the Virgin Mary,
a holy figure in the Christian tradition
wrapped or dressed in so many luxurious textiles,
perhaps indicates the ongoing importance
of wrapping secret bodies or secret things
after the Spanish conquest throughout
what we call the viceregal or colonial era.
Some scholars have interpreted this subject in the Andes
to represent the Virgin Mary
in the guise of an Inca princess,
as if it's a syncretic blending of Christian imagery
and Inca ideas.
Some people disagree with that interpretation though,
because there are prototypes in Spain,
albeit with some differences.
- [Narrator 2] We often find paintings of Mary in convents,
where she was meant to serve as an example
to the young women who came in as novices
and spent their days, like Mary, in seclusion,
praying, reading and creating elaborate textiles
for the church.
And often in these convents,
this painting would be hung alongside another
showing the Christ Child pricking his finger on a thorn.
- [Narrator 1] And in those paintings of the Christ Child,
you find similar visual features.
The chair is often the same.
They're both seated in the same way,
suggesting that there was a reason for continuing
to draw on these models that had some greater significance.
(gentle music)