Like a Virgin

La Virgen de Guadalupe, 

Manuel Arellano, 1691

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently acquired a painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a 17th-century work that seems to prefigure Gilda, but without the mirrors, sin, or the satin dress -- notice the four interpretations of the Virgin in the corners, surrounding the central figure.

According to Ilona Katzew, LACMA’s curator of Latin American Art, an inscription above the artist ’s signature reads, “Tocada al original” (after the original). This is an important detail, she says on LACMA’s blog, because “Images that were closer to the original were believed to be more miraculous and were therefore more valued.”

It always pays to go to the source. To read more of Katzew’s post about the legend of Our Lady and Arellano’s masterpiece, click here.