The Virgin of the Rosary with Saint Dominic and Saint Francis
Español The Virgin of the Rosary with Saint Dominic and Saint Francis by an Anonymous Colonial Artist. This richly colored devotional painting presents the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Rosary, standing majestically upon a crescent of clouds and surrounded by a multitude of cherubim. She holds the Christ Child in her arms while extending a rosary toward Saint Dominic of Guzmán, kneeling at her right. Dominic receives the beads with reverence, immediately identifying the central devotional theme of the composition: the close association between the Dominican Order and the Rosary. From the sixteenth century onward, the Rosary became one of Saint Dominic's principal attributes, and representations of the Virgin presenting the beads to him became increasingly widespread. Museo del Prado At Mary's opposite side kneels Saint Francis of Assisi, who turns toward the Christ Child in an intimate gesture of veneration. The unusual pairing of the two founders is significant: altho...
