Assignment 5B

Contains a title:
La Virgen de Guadalupe

Contains a web link to the actual piece:
http://www.utpa.edu/dept/lrgvarchive/virgen.html

Contains a brief paragraph of reference to components A and B, how you came across this piece, how it connects to your study of humanities:
Well I said before in the last assignment I actually chose to do “The Virgin Guadalupe” first but after researching for a while and just coming up with all this other information on Juan Diego I decided to switch my research towards him. Although I did come across a lot of different kinds of paintings and different interpretations of the virgin, that wasn’t enough to do my last assignment on. This one in particular that stuck out to me because it was very forward and simple and actually talked about the painting itself and not just the story the Virgin Guadalupe is the one I am going to talk to you about. This painting relates to our studies because it is symbolic of a story that took place during the independence era of Latin America.

Contains the following analytical elements:
Observation: What do you see in the artwork? What is the subject of the work? What is the work made of? What techniques (colors, lines, shapes, textures)does the artist use?
The simplest way to describe what you see in this piece of art is just the Virgin Guadalupe. To go into more detail though you see the virgin in very specific and symbolic pieces of clothes and around her she has the golden rays of the sun pointing towards her and she is stepping on the moon and beneath that there is an angel. The subject of this piece is obviously the Virgin Guadalupe. I am not sure what this piece is made of but I would guess that it would be paint because I think anything else would not have been able to be this detailed (Example: On the dress there is symbolic "writings" that tell a story to the Nahuatl people). The artist used different colors to make certain parts of the painting catch your eye. Also the artist use colors to symbolize things, for instance, the mantle is blue-green, the color reserved for Onecihuatl who are the divine couple considered the creator and unifying force of all creation. I am not sure about the texture of this piece but I do think that the shapes that the artist used were symbolic as well (Example: The mantle is covered with stars and these reflect the eras of this civilization and the relationship to Ometeotl the god of all duality).

Interpretation: In one sentence, what is the artwork about? Give specific examples to support this statement.
I think the article says it best “The Virgin of Guadalupe...is the symbolic mother of Mexicans everywhere, the symbol of Mexican identity, history, and culture”.

Judgement: What led you to choose this work of art? What do you think or feel about this work? Why do you feel this way? Support your thoughts with specific observations.
The image of the virgin has been all around me my whole life but I have never known the meaning of why she was so important or what she symbolized. To now know and understand her undeniable significance in mexican history and culture I feel kind of stupid to not have researched it sooner. Knowing the story now I see her significance and appreciate the many different images that everyone has of her much more. This particular piece of art I like because it is more detailed than a lot of the others I have seen and also I liked reading about the particulars of this piece and what they symbolize.

Questioning: What would you like to know about this work? What would you like to know about its history, its subject, or about the artist?
Well as much as I did learn about the actual painting in this assignment and all of the symbols used by the artist I didn’t actually get to learn anything about the artist. I think if I would have been able to know why that person made this painting and how much they had researched before they did it because it is obvious that they knew a lot of stuff that is not just common knowledge. Also I would like to know how they were inspired to do this painting, I mean have they always looked up to the Virgin Guadalupe and finally decide that they wanted to make something great in her honor or what? I think just in general learning more about the artist and what the feelings were behind making this I would have a deeper appreciation for the piece as a whole.