Unknown

Untitled (Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre)

Acrylic on canvas

Signed to lower left

15 1/4 x 19 1/4 in., framed to 21 x 25 in. 

A divine painting of Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity of Cobre), the Patroness of Cuba. This painting depicts the Virgin Mary appearing in the sky, holding a cross in one hand and a crowned baby Jesus in the other. At the bottom of Mary's tasseled robes are three boys known as los tres Juanes (the three Juans) — three slaves, two of Native American descent, who originally found the statue of the Virgin Mary, this painting is based on. 

In 1612, the three Juans set out to retrieve salt to preserve meat in the local slaughterhouse for the inhabitants of El Cobre. They took a canoe off the north coast of Cuba, where after seeking shelter from a storm, they saw an image of the Blessed Virgin resting on a piece of wood, still dry despite stormy weather and the tempestuous sea. On the wood were the words: "I am the Virgin of Charity." The image was taken back to El Cobre, where a special devotion developed and spread throughout Cuba. She became a symbol for Cuba's independence and was deemed the Patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV. Ernest Hemingway even dedicated his Nobel Prize in Literature for his work The Old Man and the Sea to Mary. 

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

[Art, Cuban Art, Latinx Art, Latino Art, Latin-American Art, Caribbean Art, Religious Art, Christian Art]