The Image of the Virgin of Guadalupe

Basic Info

A Mexican peasant named Juan Diego experienced an apparition of the Virgin Mary, who asked that a church be built on the site of the apparition, but the bishop doubted him and requested proof. Juan Diego told this to the apparition of the Virgin, who placed flowers in his cloak in winter. When he spilled the flowers out of his cloak before the bishop, the cloak displayed an image of the Virgin as a mestiza girl. In the image, she bears many of the features of the Woman of the Apocalypse, standing on a crescent moon supported by an angel. Rays of light emanate from her whole person.

The miraculous and inspirational claims for the image are copious. The image is a cultural symbol for Catholic Mexicans and was inspirational in Mexico’s bid for independence from Spain. The image has been copied many times and continues to be adapted by contemporary Mexican artists. Our Lady of Guadalupe is considered by Catholics to be the patron saint of the Americas. 

Historical Notes

The apparition event occurred in 1531. The image on the original cloak has been restored so many times that it seems impossible to determine whether it was a miraculous image as claimed or a painting.

What to Look For

• The mestiza features on the Virgin
• Whether and how the artist has adapted or appropriated the original image
• Whether in this artwork’s context it is intended to inspire action

Questions to Focus a General Interpretation

Because of the vast number of copies, adaptations, and uses of the image, the image seems to carry with it an excess, or explosion, of meaning. What seem to be the primary meanings of this interpretation / variation of the image?

Questions to Guide a Personal Interpretation

Does this interpretation or appropriation of the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe call you in any special way? Does it offer any special solace or protection to you?

Questions to Suggest a Historical Interpretation

The Spanish missionaries had been in the area only about 8 years when the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego. Why would it have been important to the locals in its day?

Considering the colonial history of Mexico, why might the image have continued to be so inspirational all these years?

What role might the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe have for Mexicans hoping to emigrate out of their poverty in Mexico?