The Pictorial Solemnity of Campeche

This work is an example of the classic iconography of the Madonna and Child, with the Virgin Mary holding the Baby Jesus on her lap. Both are shown holding the rosary beads in an exquisitely simple composition.

The Blessed Virgin and Child appear before St. Simon in a work that follows in the tradition of religious iconography dedicated to portraying the visions of saints. This work is presumed to be a copy of a Flemish or Italian prayer cards or stamps.

In this rendition of the Immaculate Conception, the Virgin is shown surrounded by clouds while standing over a crescent moon. 14 Cherubs present before her various offerings, like a palm leaf and a lily. This painting belonged to the Power Family whose descendant, Ramón Power y Giralt, became the first Puerto Rican to represent the Island in the Cadiz Courts (1810-1813).

Santa Teresa de Jesús is depicted here as a Doctor of the Church, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, as represented by a white dove. The work is a portrait –and not a copy– of a prayer card. To create this portrait Campeche used the description of the Saint’s features as described by Friar Diego de Yepez, the Saint’s confessor.

San José (Saint Joseph) is depicted holding the hand of the Child Christ. In his left hand, he holds a staff with flowers on the upper end. The artist adds other religious symbols, such as the cross, which is being carried by cherubs.

In this version of a Pietá, the Virgin is shown with the dead Christ’s head laid across her knees, with the walled city of Jerusalem depicted on her right-hand side. This composition is a copy of a prayer card or stamp, showing Christ being taken down from the cross.

Campeche paints a version of La Virgen de la Merced (Virgin of Mercy) in a composition that includes two kneeling figures, a free man and a shackled prisoner, on each side of the Blessed Mother, both receiving a scapular from the hand of the Blessed Child and Mother respectively.

The Virgin holds Baby Jesus on her lap with a halo of twelve stars that crowns her head. The painting, which is a copy from a prayer card or stamp, carries the following signature: “José Campeche p.t 1793”.

Campeche depicts the Blessed Mother in a way that upholds the values of modesty that were commonplace at the time, covering the breast of the nursing Mother with a “purity cloth”. Throughout his career the artist reproduced this image many times, as these specific works were considered miraculous, leading to numerous commissions by devotees.

An incredibly dramatic piece, the Virgin Mother and San Juan (St. John the Evangelist) stand on each one of Jesus’ sides, while a visibly affected Mary Magdalene clings to the cross.

Campeche depicts San Juan( St. John the Baptist) as a young shepherd holding a cross with his left hand and a shell on his right. In the foreground we can see a lamb, which symbolizes the Agnus Dei or the Lamb of God.

This representation of the Lamb of God is shown laying over a book with seven golden seals. Until 1935, the painting was part of a door in the Convent of the Carmelite Nuns. This image was used as the source of inspiration behind the national emblem of Puerto Rico.