Art History 397X - ST-Special Topics/American Art

If you visit Latin America - or even the home of a Latinx neighbor - chances are you will see at least one image of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps you have seen her image on a family altar for Day of the Dead, on a candle in the living room, on a tiny card tacked to a bulletin board, or adorning a throw pillow? Also known by Spanish speakers as la Virgencita and Nuestra Senora (Our Lady), Mary has manifested in a diversity of media reflecting the many different cultures devoted to her. But what is it about this biblical figure that has made her so popular with Latin Americans that she became inseparable from their identity? In this course, we will seek the answer to that question by examining some of the most famous images of the Virgin in Latin America and the visual culture her cult has generated. The course will begin with an introduction to Marian devotion and the ways different regions in Latin America have mobilized images of the Virgin to define and redefine themselves. We will be particularly interested in the sometimes familiar, sometimes strange objects that Latin Americans and US Latinxs have used while interacting with "their" Virgins, such as clothing, wigs, jewelry, flowers, and processional litters. Starting in the colonial period and continuing into the present, we will note continuities in Marian cults over time and end our investigation with the reverent and irreverent popular visual culture related to Marian devotion, including tattoos, electric shrines, souvenirs, and candles.