By Daniel Ymbong

The establishment of the Spanish viceroyalties ushered new popular devotions and art production depicting the Virgin Mary in the Americas in the Early Modern period. The great demand for Marian images beginning in the sixteenth century led to the establishment of artists’ guilds, workshops, and schools, which produced artworks to adorn public and private spaces. Marian art and devotion became part of many visual cultures in Latin America, informing the daily lives of diverse populations in the viceroyalty, so much so that the devotion to Mary would inspire revolution and continue to permeate in present day spirituality and identity in Latin America. This miniature exhibition explores the origins, diaspora, and transformation of Marian iconography and devotions from the IMAS Permanent Collection that are available to be experienced here in the Rio Grande Valley.