Novo-Hispanic school; XVIII century.

Novo-Hispanic school; XVIII century.
"San Felipe Neri and San Juan Nepomuceno".
Oil on boards, painted and embroidered with metallic threads glued to board.
Signed on the back Pascuala García.
Measurements: 18.5 x 14 cm (x2); 27 x 22 cm (frames, x2).
Portraits embroidered on textile support, corresponding to the Novo-Hispanic artistic tradition of the XVIII century. They represent two saints of the Counter-Reformation: San Felipe Neri (left) and San Juan Nepomuceno (right), figures whose iconography was especially widespread in the spaces of private and conventual devotion in the viceroyalty of New Spain.
The image on the left shows St. Philip Neri, founder of the Oratory and one of the great spiritual reformers of 16th century Rome. He is depicted in his traditional white liturgical vestment, embroidered with golden threads that emulate the radiance of his holiness. His gaze is raised to heaven in a gesture of mystical rapture, while his right hand points to his heart, symbol of the "fire of divine love" that consumed him, and in his left hand he holds a bouquet of lilies, an attribute that alludes to purity. Behind him, a radiant background of golden threads in the form of rays reinforces the sacredness of the character and the celestial character of his spiritual experience.
The image on the right represents St. John Nepomuk, a 14th century Czech martyr, known as the "confessor of the sigil". He wears an ermine cloak, symbol of canonical dignity, and carries in his hands a crucifix to which he approaches tenderly, in a gesture that symbolizes his intimate union with Christ's sacrifice. His face, serene and melancholic, conveys inner recollection and commitment to the sacramental silence that led him to martyrdom. The background is also made up of embroidered golden rays that emphasize its sacred character.
The embroidered devotional art was an artisanal practice of the highest quality cultivated in the women's convents and ecclesiastical workshops of New Spain.