Novohispanic School. Puebla de los Angeles. Mexico. 18th century. 'Virgin of Mercy' Oil on canvas. Relined. 62 x 48,5 cm.   True oil portrait of the miraculous image of the Virgin of Mercy, presented to Archbishop Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu, a native of the island of La Palma (Canary Islands), possibly when he began his ministry as Bishop in Puebla de los Ángeles. Various cartouches depict the miracles performed by the image. The specific place of execution of the piece can be determined by the person to whom it was dedicated and the place where he carried out his ministry.   This is a work characteristic of New Spanish Baroque art, in which the artist paints a religious subject intended as a gift for a bishop, displaying decorative exuberance and emotional drama in each painted cartouche—features more typical of earlier centuries. The painting is based on the engraving included among the images provided by the donor, with slight variations that render the image more sober and regal, more in the European style. In that engraving, beneath the Virgin, one can read: “Copy of the Miraculous Image of Mary Most Holy of Mercy, the Pilgrim. She wished to be venerated in her convent of the Discalced Mercedarian Fathers in the city of Cádiz.” Beneath this central cartouche, on a kind of base panel supporting the work, appear the names of “Illustrious Lords” (as they are called) who granted various indulgences for the recitation of Hail Marys and Salves before this miraculous image: “The Reverend Lord Cardinal de Solís [Francisco de Solís Folch de Cardona, who served in Seville, Spain, from where the bishoprics of New Spain were dependent] grants 100 days of indulgence to anyone who recites a Hail Mary, and another 100 days are granted by the Most Illustrious Lords Manuel Rubio y Salinas, Archbishop of Mexico, and Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu, Archbishop of Puebla, and his Auxiliary Bishop of Cisano?, Fr. Juan Luis de la Visa, Bishop of Havana, and Andrés de Peredes, and Juan Polo, Bishop of Quito, who grant 40 days for reciting a Hail Mary, and Fr. Thomas del Valle, Bishop of Cádiz, grants indulgence for reciting a Salve. (…1758).”   Our painting, faithfully based on this engraving but with the author’s own touches and preferences, alters the content of this base panel, and—despite the wear and losses to the canvas—one can still read that “the Virgin is dedicated to Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu, Archbishop of Santo Domingo and Primate of the Americas.”   The Bishop, originally from the Canary Islands, was born in Santa Cruz de La Palma in 1683 and was drawn to religious life from an early age. As reported by the Centro Virtual Cervantes, “he studied Latin and Philosophy at the convent of San Agustín in La Laguna. Later, he moved to Ávila, where he obtained a doctorate in Canon Law from the university. Returning to the Canary Islands, he served as cathedral prebendary from 1715.” In 1737, after holding several religious posts in his native archipelago, he was elevated to the Archiepiscopal See of Santo Domingo, taking office two years later. There he became involved in the political and administrative life of the city, beyond his ecclesiastical duties, working closely with the governor and captain general of Santo Domingo and president of its royal court, Don Pedro Zorrilla de San Martín. Several years later, in 1743, he was transferred to the bishopric of Puebla de los Ángeles, a position he held until his death in 1763. About ten letters written from the various places where he lived still exist, as well as other texts such as his “Pastoral Letter on the Usefulness of Instruction in the Mexican Language for the Teaching of the Indians,” a written work that, according to the Academia Dominicana de la Historia, “is not only useful but also a reflection of his refined culture, in addition to his generous donations to several churches in his native archipelago.”   The miraculous, crowned, and seated image of the Virgin of Mercy appears beneath the bleeding heart of her Son, from which hang the scapulars of the Order of Mercy. In the cartouches surrounding the image we see scenes illustrating her miracles: A) “Most Holy Mary helps by personally rescuing a woman from a strong current.” B) “She resurrected a dead man by placing upon the corpse an image of Our Most Holy Lady.” C) “Our Most Holy Lady grants sight to a blind priest who goes out to meet her on the road.” D) “On the day of her entrance, Our Most Holy Lady heals a woman who had been crippled and mute for seven years.”   Between the side cartouches, around the Sacred Image and the heart of her Son, there are Latin inscriptions on small scrolls, now illegible due to pictorial losses. In the engraving, the text can be read because the burin’s shading darkens the lines. Nevertheless, these small losses do not diminish the overall meaning of the painting, which is clearly conveyed through the numerous surviving cartouches and the quality of the image itself—a painting that enriches the ecclesiastical history of Mexico and plays a fundamental role in the process of evangelisation, using a beloved and devotional image to transmit Christian thought and faith to the people.   Reference bibliography: - Centro Virtual Cervantes. (n.d.). 'Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu'. https://cvc.cervantes.es/artes/ciudades_patrimonio/puebla/personalidades/abreu.htm - Fernández, David W. (1976). Domingo Pantaleón Álvarez de Abreu, en 'CLIO', número 132, pp. 39-46. https://catalogo.academiadominicanahistoria.org.do//opac-tmpl/files/ppcodice/CLIO-1976-132-039-046.pdf