Viceregal School. Peru. 18th century. Our Lady of the Rosary'. Oil on canvas. Relined. Accompanied by a cornucopia frame in carved and patinated wood of the period. It has some faults. 104 x 82,5 cm. This canvas depicts one of the most outstanding episodes in the legend of Saint Dominic of Guzmán, the saint's presence at the apparition of the Virgin of the Rosary. In this painting, with the added presence of another saint. Tradition, which began in the 15th century, told that the Mother of God herself taught Saint Dominic to pray the rosary in 1208, telling him to propagate this type of worship and to use it as a powerful weapon against those he supposed to be enemies of the faith. During Spanish colonial rule in New Spain, a religious painting of this type was developed, intended to Christianise the indigenous people. This painting, by a local painter, was modelled on other Spanish artworks, which were followed and copied in type and iconography, but always with their own identity. The centre of interest is focused on the female presence with the child in her arms, the Virgin Mary and her Son. The gazes of all the figures, angels and saints, are directed towards her, and she is also placed in the most luminous area of the composition. The Virgin Mary, floating on clouds and crowned, is presented as a dignitary. Her red robe expresses divine love in Christian mysticism. Her blue mantle symbolises heaven and heavenly love. It is also the colour that the Church traditionally associates with the Virgin. The rosary she holds in her right hand points to the type of worship that is practised in reference to this invocation of the Virgin Mary and which is understood 'as a means of prayer to facilitate salvation'. Three white lilies can be seen, which speak of purity and martyrdom. Two saints, in ecstasy, pray on their knees before her, founders of the two orders that were in almost constant conflict, but which symbolically are united and involved in the same worship, as in the embrace they gave each other at the doors of St. Peter's Basilica, which was so often depicted in art. In the lower margin, there is a sign that reads: 'Nra. Sra. del Rosario. A devocn. del Sarg.to Mor. Dn. Joseph Ferimn Ruiz Pino y Dª. Carl [...] AV'. The inscription ends with the initials 'AV', a clear allusion to the owner, and to the person for whom the work was made.