Attributed to Miguel Cabrera, mid-18th century

Attributed to MIGUEL CABRERA (Antequera, Oaxaca, ca. 1695 – Mexico City, 1768).
New Spain School, Mexico, mid-18th century.
“Our Lady of Guadalupe with the Four Apparitions and a View of the Tepeyac Shrine.”
Oil on canvas.
It shows some losses in the paint layer, consistent with its age. The frame is also damaged.
Measurements: 121 x 91 cm; 143 x 113 x 5 cm (with frame).

This painting exemplifies one of the most representative iconographic formulations of 18th-century New Spain art, combining the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe with scenes of her apparitions and a view of the Tepeyac Shrine. The composition is linked to the pictorial tradition developed around Miguel Cabrera, one of the great masters of the Mexican Baroque and a key figure in the dissemination of Guadalupe iconography.

The Virgin occupies the central axis, depicted standing with her hands clasped in prayer and her face delicately bowed. She wears a pink tunic with gold motifs and a blue mantle speckled with stars, while a broad burst of sunbeams frames her figure. At her feet, an angel holds a crescent moon. In the four corners are oval medallions depicting Juan Diego’s encounters with the Virgin, the miraculous gathering of roses, and the revelation of her image to Bishop Juan de Zumárraga. The lower cartouche features a detailed panoramic view of the town of Guadalupe, with the sanctuary and small figures of pilgrims.

The delicacy of the modeling, the chromatic harmony, and the meticulous treatment of the secondary scenes show affinities with the styles popularized by Cabrera and his circle. This style finds parallels in works preserved at the Arocena Museum in Torreón and the El Carmen Museum in Mexico City, where a similar composition attributed to Miguel Cabrera is housed. The combination of the sacred image with narrative scenes and topographical references reflected a desire to document and spread the story of the Miracle of Guadalupe, devotion to which also gained a notable following in Spain.

Miguel Cabrera was one of the most prestigious painters of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. He worked for important religious orders and served as court painter to the Archbishop of Mexico, Manuel José Rubio y Salinas. In 1751, he participated in the examination of the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an experience that led to his treatise *Maravilla americana* (1756), which is fundamental to the history of the devotion to Guadalupe. His paintings, characterized by elegant draftsmanship, soft skin tones, and rich ornamentation, are housed in institutions such as the Museo de América in Madrid and the Museo Amparo in Puebla.