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Premium Attributed to Juan Patricio Morlete (San Miguel el Grande, G…
Attributed to Juan Patricio Morlete (San Miguel el Grande, G…
Lot no. 74
Description
Attributed to Juan Patricio Morlete (San Miguel el Grande, Guanajuato, Mexico, 1713/1715 - Mexico, 1772)
"Our Lady of Mount Carmel and her iconographic theology"
Oil on canvas.
32,5 x 26,5 cm.
Curious theological summary of the principles and truths of the Carmelite Order through the vision of the Virgin of Mount Carmel, painted with great attention to detail by its New Spanish author in a window-altarpiece that condenses and concentrates everything. Without doubt, it was painted for the personal devotion of a member of that order.
Above, in the upper section or attic, two angels blow trumpets bearing the symbol of Mary, giving her a triumphant entrance from heaven. This is how Saint John the Evangelist narrates it from Patmos (bottom right, behind the standing Carmelite), where he received the revelations and wrote the Apocalypse.
In chapter 12 of this book, John describes a heavenly vision of a woman who is considered by Christian tradition to be the Virgin Mary. The name of the devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel comes from Mount Carmel in Israel (bottom left, behind the kneeling prophet), where we see at the summit the Monastery of Stella Maris, founded by the Carmelites, which houses the cave that, according to tradition, was the refuge of the prophet Elijah. On that mountain an order of hermits was established, inspired by the figure of that prophet.
In our painting, that woman already appears with the shield of the order in the center of her chest, clothed with the sun (behind her) and with the moon under her feet, trampling the serpent. She carries the banner of the Carmelite Order and her Son the banner of the Mystical Lamb who offers himself in sacrifice and becomes the Eucharist to remain among us.
Two angels link and communicate that heaven with the earth: Gabriel, as divine messenger, brings the good news to the Prophet that she is the Mother of Carmel and gives him the lily that symbolizes her and that also symbolizes his unbreakable faith.
On the right, the Archangel Michael who, in Jewish tradition, is the advocate and defender of Israel, the one who protects his people against their accuser, Satan. He is the archangel who fights against the forces of evil and is considered the commander of the heavenly armies.
Both figures represent the struggle for faith in the one God, whether as an archangel who defends the people or as the prophet who calls for true worship.
This Carmelite theology takes bodily form (solid ground) in the figures of the Prophet Elijah, kneeling, and his faithful follower Elisha, standing, his most distinguished disciple, who inherited his prophetic spirit and succeeded him in the order.
Between the two, a burning pyre offers a holocaust to heaven (1 Kings 18). The holocaust refers to the offering that the prophet Elijah prepared on Mount Carmel to prove that Yahweh was the only true God, in front of the 450 prophets of Baal. In prayer, Elijah asked that it be known that God was the God of Israel and that he was his servant, demonstrating the purpose of his worship and the importance of true faith.
Heaven’s response was a fire that consumed not only the holocaust but also the wood, the stones, the dust, and even licked up the water in the trench, demonstrating that God is a God of fire who consumes everything and that, as He is also the God of rain and sun, He has control over all.
Behind the Prophet and his disciple, and as the base of the pilasters that support this theological Carmelite altarpiece-frame, we see Justice on the left, with the scales (equity) and the sword (strength), seen as an attribute of God that Elijah was responsible for manifesting in the face of idolatry and the king of Israel; and Fortitude on the right, embracing a column, fortitude to face fears and life’s challenges with integrity, even in adversity.
All this theology, centered on Our Lady of Mount Carmel, is surrounded by angels offering her praises from the Litany of Loreto. Two stand out especially: one on the left, holding a scroll with the words ECCE SIGNUM SALUTIS (here is the sign of salvation), placing upon himself the scapular of the Carmelite order; and on the right, a pair holding the inscription BULA SABATINA EX IVAN XXII, a papal document from 1322 issued by Pope John XXII, which promises the liberation from Purgatory on the Saturday following death for those who have worn the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This privilege was granted after an apparition of the Virgin Mary to John XXII, in which she promised this grace to the members of her order.
We are before a painting in which the prophet Elijah is very faithfully depicted as he appears in Holy Scripture, a man of God who walks tirelessly in His presence and who, inflamed with zeal, fights in defense of the worship of the one true God. Elijah, with his life of contemplative prayer, was the model who inspired the first Carmelites.
The Order of Carmel adopted the Blessed Virgin Mary as its Patroness, thus perpetuating the bond between the prophet and her.
Without any doubt, due to its symbolic and theological depth, this work was commissioned to the artist as a gift for a Carmelite religious on the occasion of his profession of vows to God under the charism of Carmel. And, without doubt as well, it is an exquisite self-gift to enrich any art collection worthy of the name.
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz was one of the greatest painters in Mexico during the second half of the 18th century. Although his biography was little known until the 20th century, his work began to be more widely disseminated through various collections, which made it possible to learn more about him. Morlete, with extensive oeuvre in Mexico, is particularly known for his series of caste paintings. The Museo de América in Madrid has a still life by his hand (inv. 2021/04/01).
He founded the Academy of Painting in 1753, together with his teacher José de Ibarra, Miguel de Cabrera, José de Alcíbar and other illustrious figures. Two years earlier, in 1751, he had been part of the group of artists who inspected the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe. These two events reflect the artistic and cultural importance, as well as the social and professional recognition of the painter.
The iconographic themes of his artistic production are varied. Urban views, devotional and allegorical motifs, sacred history and several portraits known to date, including those of several viceroys and a portrait of King Charles III dated 1760.
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