Miguel de Herrera (La Laguna, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1696 - Mexico, after 1765) “Allegory and exaltation of the purity and virginity of Mary Immaculate, and symbolism of some lauretan litanies”. Oil on canvas. Signed, dated and located: “Fr. Miguel de Herrera, Augustiniano f. Mexico 1743”.  In its original carved, polychromed and gilded wooden frame.  102 x 76 cm. Delicate allegorical work by Miguel de Herrera, a painter from the Canary Islands, also known as Fray Miguel de Herrera, as in 1712 he became a monk, entering the Monastery of the Holy Spirit of the order of St. Augustine.  The painting portrays the theological and devotional exaltation of the purity and virginity of Mary Immaculate, with the symbolism of some lauretan litanies.   This painter moved to New Spain in 1719, developing most of his artistic career in Mexico, which is why for a time it was believed that Mexico was his birthplace. It should be noted that in 1753 this painter from Tenerife entered the First Academy of Painting in Mexico. The exact date of his death is unknown, but he remained active at least until 1765. Certainly, this mature work by the Augustinian friar reflects the metaphors that appear in the Bible with mastery.  They are already seen in patristics as prefigurations of Christ and are contemplated here totally in a Marian sense. In a background of purity and mystical light, with delicate tones almost of celestial mist, below and in the background, Nazareth appears, pointed out by Saint Anne as the place of the Virgin's birth, as well as the walls of Jerusalem, where the life and death of her Son will take place. From the union of her two holy parents, Joachim and Anne, the Virgin Mary emerges as a white lily (Lilium Candidum), an emblematic species because of its immaculate white flowers and its deep cultural and religious symbolism, being a botanical hermaphrodite and icon of purity and renewal, which exudes a deep, sweet and intense fragrance. This figure is surrounded by immaculist symbolism and some Laurelian litanies, which were born in the Song of Songs, which became part of the landscape and background of many artworks and which enclosed the iconographic model of the “Tota Pulchra”. On the upper right, “the Door”, Mary is symbolized as the door to heaven through which the Savior has come to us, according to Christian theology, as well as the door that leads us to Him. Below, two angels hold “the Tower of David or Tower of ivory”, in clear parallelism to the tower of the Alcazar in which King David settled when he conquered Jerusalem, symbol of his power and of singular dignity and beauty. The Tower of David, alludes to Mary´s spiritual beauty, her firmness in faith and her dignity as Mother of the Messiah. They also hold the lily, which, like the lilies, signifies her virginal being and her conception without stain of sin. That whiteness is an image of the Virgin's spiritual beauty, and the petals opening upwards are a reference to her openness to God the Father. The petals opening to her sides allude to her generous and essentially missionary motherhood. All the petals form a single flower, an image of fraternity. According to the thought of St. Bernard, Mary's lily is not cultivated and pampered in gardens, but the wild lily of the valley, which sprouts and blooms without the intervention and the hand of man. On the left, above, two other angels hold the Mirror, Mary as “Mirror of Justice”. This Lauretan litany expresses that Mary reflects divine holiness, that is, perfection. In Mary “God was reflected and reproduced through his faithful transcript Jesus, without wounding or altering the mirror itself,” as the Holy Fathers say. The mirror is also related to the soul and the reflection it produces. Therefore, it would come to be one of the faces of truth and, because of its complexity, it would allude at the same time to conscience, clarity and divine intelligence. They also hold an olive branch, which symbolizes peace and values of fecundity, victory or purification applied to the Virgin Mary. The palm or “Palm Tree” which, because of its greenness and life, usually has a meaning related to the hope of salvation. Likewise, recalling the events of the Passion of Christ, the inhabitants of Jerusalem acclaimed Jesus at the entrance of the city as a sign of triumph and victory. In that sense, it evokes ascension, regeneration and immortality. Likewise, we cannot forget that the palm tree was one of the trees that existed in paradise. Iconographically, in the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, this element usually appears as an allegory of justice. Finally, a basket of roses speaks of the “Mystical Rose”, as a symbol of the passion and charity of Christ, showing Mary as queen of flowers and queen of virtues, as St. Bonaventure reflected in his work “The Mystical Vine”.