Imagen, santuario, culto y patrocinio : la Virgen de la Soledad de Oaxaca, 1682-1819 / Selene del Carmen García Jiménez.

Primera edición, 21 de marzo de 2024.

Ciudad de México : Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca : Secretaría de Arte y Cultura del Municipio de Oaxaca de Juárez, 2024.

©2024

487 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm

The Basílica de la Soledad in the city of Oaxaca is still a living sanctuary and a reference of local religiosity whose meanings remained hidden or misinterpreted. This book is the first systematic and documented contribution on the origins of the cult, its social actors and the political and economic interests that allowed the construction of the imposing temple fabric and its annexed convent (at very early dates for the entire kingdom of New Spain, since no other sanctuary enjoyed this substance and monumentality). More than a monograph of a building or a devotion, this publication opens a window to understanding the role of ecclesiastical and commercial elites in order to build a great sign of identity and power. All based on first-hand sources collected in regional, national and international archives, and many prints and prints unknown until now. In these pages, the material and cultural biography of the titular image and its successive transformations regains prominence, as well as some cardinal characters of regional history: the wealthy patron Pedro de Otálora, the Bishops Tomás de Monterroso and Ángel Maldonado, and a network of merchants of Andalusian origin who benefited from the production and export of cochineal. On more than one occasion, the reader or specialist will not cease to be surprised by the political use of the cult, the economic strength of its promoters and the localist discourse with which this devotion was set in motion. Not to mention the quality and splendor of the artistic legacy deposited there, in the symbolism of its architecture and the unprecedented Flemish provenance of the paintings or regional copies of the sacred image. It is not an exaggeration to say, together with its author Selene García Jiménez, that it is the first exemplary and colossal sanctuary, perfectly articulated and oiled, which was emulated by many others in the twilight of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century. A case study, then, and a long-term story, typical of the social history of art -difficult to achieve critically- in which there is room for multiple voices, conflicts, interests and events, whose reception and imprint reach the present.

Virgen de la Soledad de Oaxaca, 1682-1819

Spanish

September 12, 2024

Includes bibliographical references (pages 435-483).