MADRID.- So far, so close: Guadalupe, Mexico, in Spain offers a new perspective on the role of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a miraculously created image, an object of worship and symbol of identity in the Hispanic world. Through nearly 70 works, including paintings, prints, sculptures and books, the exhibition shows how this manifestation of the Virgin, which first appeared on the Cerro del Tepeyac or Tepeyac Hill in 1531, transcended the borders of New Spain to become a powerful presence in the Spanish collective imagination.


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The project, curated by the Mexican professors Jaime Cuadriello (UNAM) and Paula Mues Orts (INAH), is the result of years of research and collaboration between institutions. The exhibition is structured into eleven thematic sections, combining small and large-format works that range from the earliest depictions of apparitions of the Virgin to the sophisticated vera effigies reproduced for devotional or political purposes.

The exhibition begins with a visual cartography that charts the surprising density of the presence of images of the Virgin of Guadalupe across all of Spain. This dissemination reflects economic, social and political factors such as trade with the Indies, mining and the movement of viceregal officials. These works reflect both devotion and the concerns of communities, artists, merchants, the nobility and the clergy, who together made the Virgin a shared devotional cult.

Themes covered in the exhibition’s different sections include the transmission of the Guadalupe story through standardised narrative and visual models; the formal genealogy of the image and its connection with European Marian icons such as the Immaculate Conception and the Tota pulchra; its status as a "painting not made by human hand", which relates to the concept of the Deus pictor; and the sacredness of the Virgin’s mantle, conceived as a living relic and object of veneration. A comparison is also made with Iberian painting of the same period, revealing stylistic affinities and differences with schools such as Madrid and Andalusia.

Of particular interest are the sections dedicated to the vera effigies, which are exact copies or modified versions of the original, reproduced using specialised artistic techniques. Also notable is the presence of exotic materials, such as mother-of-pearl, ivory and brass, which arrived on the Manila Galleon, demonstrating the global reach of the cult of Guadalupe and its integration into transoceanic networks of cultural exchange.

The exhibition includes masterpieces by artists from New Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, including José Juárez, Juan Correa, Manuel de Arellano, Miguel Cabrera, Velázquez, Zurbarán and Francisco Antonio Vallejo. Together they trace an artistic and symbolic map of the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe which lasted from the 17th to the early 19th century.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Fundación Casa de México in Spain is collaborating on an extensive cultural programme that focuses on the symbolic and artistic dimension of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The programme includes lectures by the curators, a cycle of historical and contemporary films, informational capsules and workshops on traditional Mexican crafts taught by masters from Michoacán and Chiapas. These activities, taking place at the Museo del Prado and at the Fundación’s venue in Madrid, will offer participants a wide-ranging experience that interweaves history, art and living tradition.


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