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For the Catholic devotion, and statues, please see "Our Lady of Navigators".

The Virgin of the Navigators, by Alejo Fernández, 1531–36, oil on panel.

The Virgin of the Navigators (Spanish: La Virgen de los Navegantes) is a painting by Spanish artist Alejo Fernández, created as the central panel of an altarpiece for the chapel of the Casa de Contratación in Seville. It is the earliest known painting whose subject is the discovery of the Americas.^[1]^[2]

Sometime before 1536, officials at the Casa de Contratación commissioned the painting as the central panel of an altarpiece that they installed in the Hall of Audiences, so that the room could also serve as a chapel. Scholars date the painting to 1531–36.^[3]

[edit] Background

A series of articles on Roman Catholic Mariology
General articles Overview of Mariology • Veneration of the Blessed Virgin • History of Mariology
Expressions of devotion Art • Music • Architecture
Specific articles Apparitions • Saints • Popes • Dogmas and Doctrines • Movements & Societies

By the Age of Exploration, with the growth of Mariology, Catholics throughout Europe had started to see the Virgin Mary as the symbol of motherhood and of all that was good, gentle and merciful.^[4] These sentiments were reflected in Marian art from that period (see History of Mariology).

This painting is perhaps derived from the 1445 painting The Madonna of Mercy by Piero della Francesca in which the Virgin Mary protects the faithful under the folds of her mantel. In both paintings the Virgin Mary is the largest figure in the picture, towering above those being protected.^[5]

Other images of the Virgin of Mercy have similar depictions of the Blessed Virgin protecting the faithful under her mantel. (See the gallery of art in the Virgin of Mercy article).

European navigators, specially the Portugese, praying for a safe return to their homes, carried this sentiment to South America, where it resulted in churches dedicated to Our Lady of Navigators.^[6]^[7]

[edit] Description

The entire altarpiece

In The Virgin of the Navigators Mary is depicted spreading her mantle over the Spanish. She straddles the seas, uniting the continents, or hovers over the harbor to protect ships, cargo and crew as they embark on the perilous Atlantic crossing.^[8]

Ferdinand II of Aragon and the emperor Charles V (cloaked in red), along with Isabella I of Castile,^[9] are portrayed together with Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci and one of the Pinzón Brothers, shown kneeling.^[10] All soar on clouds above the water beneath the Virgin's feet.

Around the Virgin gather figures of indigenous peoples of the Americas, converted from their original faiths by the navigators who have set sail in her name: the painting "may be the fullest statement of the approved Spanish ideology, which might be called "the White Legend of Spain's Imperial Election".^[11] Green and white striped Andalusian flags were frequently seen on ships, shown in the painting, as Andalusians played an important role in the enterprise.^[12]

Flanking the Virgin are panels depicting St. Sebastian, St. James the Great, St. Elmo, and St. John the Evangelist. These panels are thought to be the work of someone other than Alejo, perhaps a member of his workshop or another known artist.^[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ John Noble, Susan Forsyth, Vesna Maric, Paula Hardy. Andalucía. Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 100
^ Silvio Bedini, 1991 The Christopher Columbus encyclopedia ISBN 0131426702 page 318
^ ^a ^b "16th century AD", Carla Rahn Phillips, Renaissance Quarterly, fall 2005
^ Heather Millar. 'Spain in the Age of Exploration', Marshall Cavendish, 1999, pp. 46-47
^ Leslie Levin, 1998 Metaphors of conversion in seventeenth-century Spanish drama ISBN 1855660571 page 28
^ Candice Lee Goucher, 2007 World history: journeys from past to present ISBN 0415771374 page 102
^ Vicente del Rio, 2009 Contemporary urbanism in Brazil ISBN 0813032814 page 189
^ Frank Graziano. Wounds of love, Oxford University Press US, 2004, p. 147
^ Art Mackeyinc.com
^ Linda Biesele Hall, Teresa Eckmann. Mary, mother and warrior, University of Texas Press, 2004, p. 46
^ "The Shadow of the Black Legend in John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia" Eric Griffin, Millsaps College
^ Historical Flags (Andalusia, Spain) Flags Of The World

[0] John Noble, Susan Forsyth, Vesna Maric, Paula Hardy. Andalucía. Lonely Planet, 2007, p. 100

[1] Silvio Bedini, 1991 The Christopher Columbus encyclopedia ISBN 0131426702 page 318

[VN-2] "16th century AD", Carla Rahn Phillips, Renaissance Quarterly, fall 2005

[3] Heather Millar. 'Spain in the Age of Exploration', Marshall Cavendish, 1999, pp. 46-47

[4] Leslie Levin, 1998 Metaphors of conversion in seventeenth-century Spanish drama ISBN 1855660571 page 28

[5] Candice Lee Goucher, 2007 World history: journeys from past to present ISBN 0415771374 page 102

[6] Vicente del Rio, 2009 Contemporary urbanism in Brazil ISBN 0813032814 page 189

[7] Frank Graziano. Wounds of love, Oxford University Press US, 2004, p. 147

[8] Art Mackeyinc.com

[9] Linda Biesele Hall, Teresa Eckmann. Mary, mother and warrior, University of Texas Press, 2004, p. 46

[10] "The Shadow of the Black Legend in John Smith's Generall Historie of Virginia" Eric Griffin, Millsaps College

[11] Historical Flags (Andalusia, Spain) Flags Of The World

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Contents

[edit] Background

[edit] Description

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes