Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia

Referred to in the 17th century as “la Capitana Celestial,” Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia held special significance within the Viceroyalty of Peru, and specifically to Lima and the nearby seaport of Callao. By the 17th century El Callao served as a main port of commerce for the Spanish crown, connecting the Americas to trade routes in the Pacific, the Caribbean and across the Atlantic. Local veneration of the Virgen de Misericordia thus focused on her powers to guide sailors and travelers on their perilous journeys across the sea. The present work likely dates to the late 18th century and as the cartouche below her image reads, is a copy of the painting that originally would have hung in the Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús in Callao. Accounts from 1675 tell of several miraculous occurrences when, during mass, the painting seemed to come to life and appeared covered in a dew-like sweat. Promoted by missionaries as a powerful evangelizing image in the Americas, the miracles of la Virgen de la Misericordia “que sudó y lloró en la Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús” served the Spanish crown well by further legitimizing the Christian message and presence in the new world. The original painting is assumed to have been lost or destroyed in the earthquake and tsunami of 1746, which devastated Lima and surrounding areas. Nevertheless, documents from 1676 providing a detailed description of the painting allowed for later copies to be made. The present work provides a beautiful example of the miraculous image that would have been housed in the church in Callao. Here, the young Virgin Mary is pictured, tears delicately falling from her eyes onto her cheeks. A cloak of dense gold brocade and deep colors drapes over her hair and shoulders, a halo of gold rays and pastel hues radiate from her, highlighting her heavenly status. An abundance of flowers, including lilies and roses (symbols of purity, fertility, and love), frame her image. In her beauty and her solitude, Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia provides a powerful allusion to our earthy sins being forgiven through heavenly suffering, but more importantly, she would have communicated a potent message for the Spanish crown, as protector of both spiritual and physical journeys in the new world.