Santas: The Feminine Divine

Created February 2021

By Carol Lopez

The Christian faith’s importance expanded due to the Spanish and Portuguese Viceroyalty, much of the art was influenced by Spanish, Italian, and Flemish Renaissance and Baroque paintings, prints, and sculptures. Throughout Christianity, female saints became models of holiness, emotional and spiritual solidarity. Saints such as St.Theresa, St. Katherine, St.Barbra, St. Lucy, St. Anne, and St. Veronica were popular during the colonial times, which produced varying hybrid and new artworks and devotions throughout the colonies. Latin American’s first female saint was St. Rosa de Lima, a Creole (European born in the viceroyalty), is remembered for her piety, chastity, and iconography of crowned thorn roses. This devotion to female saints and Catholicism as a whole, greatly impacted the daily lives and art production of all the inhabitants in the Spanish and Portuguese viceroyalties, up to revolution to the modern-day. This virtual exhibition explores the cultural, political, social, material, and artistic significance and female sainthood in Latin America from the permanent collection of the International Museum of Science.

Click to View the Virtual Exhibit Below

Santas: The Feminine Divine
Center for Latin American Arts at UTRGV
Center for Latin American Arts at UTRGV

Current Exhibits

Virtual Exhibits

  • artist working7
  • artist working3

Processing By Christopher Fitzgerald

Visit the virtual exhibition Processing. Christopher Miñán Fitzgerald translates intimate watercolors into large-scale paintings to explore our human capacity for hope in the face of incomprehensible tragedy.

  • Jess Cramp IF/THEN Collection STEM exhibit

This is a STEMinist

The International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) has partnered with McAllen Public Utility (MPU) to address the gender [...]

  • Natural Essence IMAS Virtual Exhibit

Natural Essence

Ceramics have been around for a long time. They can be created by using different types of clay and [...]

Stay Informed!

Receive news and information about exhibits, education programs and updates.