The Imposition of the Chasuble on St. Ildephonsus
Oil on panel, c. 1615-25, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA,
Mexico City
Luis Juárez (?), Mexican, c. 1585 - after 1636
St. Ildephonsus (Ildefonso) was abbot of the monastery SS.
Cosmas and Damian at Aglia near Toledo (Spain) before succeding
his uncle, St. Eugenius, as archbishop of Toledo. Born in the
Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in about 606 he is particularly
associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary which he
encouraged with his literary creation "De virginitate perpetua
sanctae Mariae" (Of the Perpetual Virginity of Saint Mary). He
was rewarded for this effort by the Lady herself, who descended
from heaven and presented him with a golden chasuble (the garment
worn by a priest when celebrating mass) which had been specially
woven in heaven. His work was extremely influential in the
formulation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He died
in 677, his feast day is celebrated on January 23. The present
location of the miraculous chasuble is not recorded.
This painting has recently been the subject of rather tepid
controversy in the tempestuous teapot of the Mexican art world:
Long attributed to the Mexican-born master Luis Juárez, who
founded a dynasty of seventeenth century Mexican artists, The
Imposition of the Chasuble on St. Ildephonsus has been removed
by some from Juárez' oeuvre, while others vociferously defend its
authenticity. Its strong resemblance to two quite similar but
less-known works by Juárez, "The Virgin Appearing to St.
Raymond of Toulouse" (private collection, Mexico) and "The
Apparition of the Infant Christ to St. Anthony of Padua" (Museo
Regional de Queretaro, mexico) suggests at least a close
connection between the two works. The fact that the now
re-attributed painting appears backwards on the cover of Rogelio
Cruz Gomar's catalogue of Juárez' work ("El pintor Luis Juárez,
su vida y Obra" Mexico, INBA, 1987) does little to clarify the
issue. This writer believes it to be an authentic work of the master,
in case you were interested.
Autograph or not, The Imposition is a typical and particularly
brilliant example of the Mexican baroque style of the first half of the
seventeenth century. This style arguably owes more to Rubens and
the school of Antwerp than to the styles traditionally associated with
the Spanish peninsula. This is not surprising, as Antwerp was the
seat of the Spanish Netherlands, at the time under the capable
regency of the daughter of Spain's Phillip II, the Infanta Isabella
Clara Eugenia and her husband (and cousin), the Austrian
Archduke Albert. Juarez' sacred works are marked by a peculiar
intensity, and by the portrayal of saintly figures in intimate, often
ecstatic communication with Christ or the Blessed Virgin. Juarez is
known to have painted the triumphal arches erected in Mexico City
in 1611 for the arrival of the Archbishop-Viceroy Fray Garcia
Guerra, less than a year before that prelate was replaced by Don
Diego Fernández de Córdoba y López de las Roelas
Benavides y Melgarejo, marqués de Guadalcázar y conde de
Posadas, the music for whose 1612 reception in Puebla Polyhymnia
will present in its March concert. It is likely that Juárez designed
the arches for the Fernandez de Cordoba's Mexico City welcome
as well.
Oil on panel, c. 1615-25, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA,
Mexico City
Luis Juárez (?), Mexican, c. 1585 - after 1636
St. Ildephonsus (Ildefonso) was abbot of the monastery SS.
Cosmas and Damian at Aglia near Toledo (Spain) before succeding
his uncle, St. Eugenius, as archbishop of Toledo. Born in the
Visigothic Kingdom of Toledo in about 606 he is particularly
associated with devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary which he
encouraged with his literary creation "De virginitate perpetua
sanctae Mariae" (Of the Perpetual Virginity of Saint Mary). He
was rewarded for this effort by the Lady herself, who descended
from heaven and presented him with a golden chasuble (the garment
worn by a priest when celebrating mass) which had been specially
woven in heaven. His work was extremely influential in the
formulation of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. He died
in 677, his feast day is celebrated on January 23. The present
location of the miraculous chasuble is not recorded.
This painting has recently been the subject of rather tepid
controversy in the tempestuous teapot of the Mexican art world:
Long attributed to the Mexican-born master Luis Juárez, who
founded a dynasty of seventeenth century Mexican artists, The
Imposition of the Chasuble on St. Ildephonsus has been removed
by some from Juárez' oeuvre, while others vociferously defend its
authenticity. Its strong resemblance to two quite similar but
less-known works by Juárez, "The Virgin Appearing to St.
Raymond of Toulouse" (private collection, Mexico) and "The
Apparition of the Infant Christ to St. Anthony of Padua" (Museo
Regional de Queretaro, mexico) suggests at least a close
connection between the two works. The fact that the now
re-attributed painting appears backwards on the cover of Rogelio
Cruz Gomar's catalogue of Juárez' work ("El pintor Luis Juárez,
su vida y Obra" Mexico, INBA, 1987) does little to clarify the
issue. This writer believes it to be an authentic work of the master,
in case you were interested.
Autograph or not, The Imposition is a typical and particularly
brilliant example of the Mexican baroque style of the first half of the
seventeenth century. This style arguably owes more to Rubens and
the school of Antwerp than to the styles traditionally associated with
the Spanish peninsula. This is not surprising, as Antwerp was the
seat of the Spanish Netherlands, at the time under the capable
regency of the daughter of Spain's Phillip II, the Infanta Isabella
Clara Eugenia and her husband (and cousin), the Austrian
Archduke Albert. Juarez' sacred works are marked by a peculiar
intensity, and by the portrayal of saintly figures in intimate, often
ecstatic communication with Christ or the Blessed Virgin. Juarez is
known to have painted the triumphal arches erected in Mexico City
in 1611 for the arrival of the Archbishop-Viceroy Fray Garcia
Guerra, less than a year before that prelate was replaced by Don
Diego Fernández de Córdoba y López de las Roelas
Benavides y Melgarejo, marqués de Guadalcázar y conde de
Posadas, the music for whose 1612 reception in Puebla Polyhymnia
will present in its March concert. It is likely that Juárez designed
the arches for the Fernandez de Cordoba's Mexico City welcome
as well.