Dolores del Puente II Ornamentation
Description of the work
Immaculate Conception
The immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary was especially defended in Spain, a fact that caused great theological disputes between the XIV, XV and XVI centuries, being the Franciscans the great defenders and promoters of her devotion. Much later than this devotional ardor for the virginal conception of the Blessed Virgin, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma on December 8, 1854.
The small sculpture of the Virgin Mary in her Immaculate Conception, patroness of Spain, is arranged on a cloud, with the moon under her feet, with the points downward, and crowned with a ring of twelve stars, as described in the Apocalypse. She gathers her hands on her chest, with a delicate gesture holding the mantle.
The composition is airy, with a vaporous modeling of the mantle. The elegant contrapposto, resting the body on the left leg and delaying the right, which rests gently on a cluster of clouds, brings majesty to the figure. The head leans gently to the left, showing a beautiful face, serene and harmonious proportions.
Our Lady of Victory
The image of the Virgen de la Victoria, a replica of the patron saint of the city and the diocese of Malaga, thus declared in a brief by Pope Pius IX on December 12, 1867.
The sculptor, despite the small size of the simulacrum, has done a very faithful work of interpretation of the original work venerated in the city since the fifteenth century.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
About the origins of the devotion, in the First Book of the Kings, it speaks of the prophet Elijah, of the great drought that the country was suffering and of the sacrifices offered on Mount Carmel. It was then that Elijah promised God that King Ahaab and the people would abandon the god Baal to end the drought that devastated the region. After the prophet went up several times, at once a great sign appeared:
"When he returned the seventh time, there came up from the sea a little cloud no bigger than the palm of the hand" (1 Kings 18:44).
From then on, Mount Carmel - located to the west of Lake Galileo and whose name means garden - became a sacred place, where hermits came to live and pray, and who over the centuries were called Carmelites.
The effigy represented by the sculptor wears the traditional Carmelite habit consisting of a tunic around the waist, a scapular and a cloak fastened around the neck; she also wears a discreet veil on her head.
In her right hand she carries the scepter and the scapular. On her chest, held with her left hand, lies the sleeping baby Jesus, holding a small scapular in her left hand. The figure is crowned with a ring of twelve stars and stands on a cloud, as a footstool, in reference to the vision described by the apostle John in Revelation.
