The Divine Shepherdess

Miguel Cabrera, one of the most prolific and important painters of New Spain, enjoyed the support and recognition of famous personages such as Archbishop Manuel Rubio y Salinas, whose court painter he was. At the center of the composition is Mary, dressed as a simple shepherdess, watching over her flock with the help of a simple shepherds crook. The placid sheep are offering Her some roses which they hold in their muzzles. Over Her head, two angels are holding a crown decorated with twelve stars, while, in the background we can see the eternal struggle between good and evil. Saint Michael Archangel, chief of the heavenly armies, is hovering in the air preparing to fight the beast which, in the form of Leviathan, is harassing a stray sheep back on land. The depiction of the Virgin Mary as a Heavenly Shepherdess stems from the biblical parable of the Good Shepherd, based on which the Virgin is here presented in Her role as the coredeemer of humanity. The image, derived from the written works of the Capuchin friar, Isidoro de Sevilla entitled "La pastora coronada" (1704) and "La mejor pastora asumpta" (1732), enjoyed great popularity and devotion in New Spain in the XVIIIth century. This work passed to the MUNAL from the San Diego Viceregal Painting Gallery in the year 2000.