Castle of the Immaculate Conception Leonardo Flores 1665
Español The Castle of the Immaculate Conception, by Leonardo Flores (1665). Church of San Francisco, La Paz, Bolivia. A colorized reconstruction based on Figures 6 and 7 of the original scholarly publication. This remarkable painting by Leonardo Flores, created for the chancel of the Franciscan church in La Paz, Bolivia, presents the Immaculate Conception as a spiritual fortress defended by the Franciscan Order. At its center stands Saint Francis of Assisi, transformed into a winged celestial warrior, bearing a metal shield and a sword before the fortified tower of the Virgin Mary. Above him, the Immaculate Virgin stands among clouds and cherubs, surrounded by the inscription Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non est in te—“You are all beautiful, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in you.” The inscription expresses the Franciscan devotion to Mary's preservation from original sin, a theological tradition vigorously defended by the Franciscan Blessed John Duns Scot...
