On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
The Divine Spouse (El Divino Esposo)
Miguel Cabrera Mexican
Not on view
The Divine Spouse reclining in a lush garden is one of the most imaginative subjects of eighteenth-century Mexico, alluding to divine love. Mystical gardens were visual allegories that referenced monastic life, and they aimed to inspire perfect virtue among cloistered nuns.
Hidden among the bed of flowers are symbols of the Passion of Christ, such as the ladder used to lower Christ’s body from the cross, the Veil of Veronica, and the Titulus Crucis (a relic of the True Cross). Jesus is crowned by angels and souls in heaven, where a place is promised to virtuous women who follow the lessons inscribed among the flowers.
El Divino Esposo, recostado en un jardín florido, alusión al amor divino, es uno de los asuntos más imaginativos de la pintura novohispana del siglo XVIII. Los jardines místicos eran alegorías visuales de la vida monástica encaminadas a inspirar la virtud perfecta en las monjas de clausura.
En las flores se descubren los símbolos de la Pasión de Cristo, como la escalera utilizada para descolgar su cuerpo de la cruz, el velo de la Verónica y el titulus crucis (una reliquia de la cruz). En el cielo, ángeles y almas coronan a Cristo, y prometen el premio celeste a las mujeres virtuosas que sigan los consejos inscritos en el vergel.
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