Att. to José Joaquín Magón (Puebla, Mexico active by 1754 – d. 1811?) Mater Dolorosa

Oil on oval shaped copper plate

16 5/8 x 12 5/8 inches, unframed 

 Inscribed, lower center: Vos omnes qui transitis per viam, atendite et videte, si est dolor, sicut dolor meus (« all ye who pass by, behold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow » )Indistinct writing below inscription; the remnants of a signature 

As is the case with many Mexican artists from the colonial period, Magón’s style varied, likely according to the commission.  His series of casta paintings are in quite a rustic style, and were acquired in the 18th Century by Cardenal Lorenzana (1722-1804) and taken to Spain. 

On the other hand, a signed work by Magón depicting the Dolorosa surrounded by Saints Peter, John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalen (Tepótzotlan, Viceregal Museum) is a completely different type of painting, and a good comparison to ours. There is a delicacy in the faces and hands of all the figures that is very similar to our painting, but dissimilar to Magón’s casta paintings. 

In Spanish art, the Virgin is sometimes depicted with seven swords or daggers piercing her breast (known as the ‘Seven Sorrows of the Virgin’) or with just one, the first of the Sorrows, from the prophecy of Simeon: “This (Christ) Child is destined to be a sign which men reject; and you too shall be pierced to the heart.” (Luke 2:34-5)