Santa Rosa de Lima

Born Isabel Flores de Oliva in the City of Lima, Peru, Saint Rose of Lima was a great beauty whose fervor and devotion led her to daily exercises of penance and piety and acts of great charity. Her father Gaspar Flores, was from Puerto Rico but her mother, María de Oliva, was a native of Lima. Nicknamed "Rose" because of her loveliness, she preferred to concentrate on her soul and its salvation. Unlike women of her day who wished to follow a religious vocation, Rose, entered a convent--the Dominicans, without a dowry. While in the convent she disciplined herself even further, and abstained from eating meat--as well as starving herself from time to time. There, Rose consecrated herself to living the life of a virgin. Upon her death, the Bishop of Lima, extolled her great virtues and exemplary life as a model for all Christians. This painting depicts the holy woman wearing the habits of her order while holding a bouquet of roses with the image of the Holy Child. All around the edges of the work, the artist has alluded to both her physical beauty and her purity. Rose of Lima is the patron saint of Peru, South America and the Philippines. Her image has been painted by many masters such as Esteban Murillo and several Latin American artists, including contemporary artist Fernando Botero.