Divine Shepherdess. Colonial School. 18th Century. Oil on canvas. The painting depicts the Divine Shepherdess seated in a serene landscape, beneath a blue-green sky that frames the scene with an aura of tranquility. She wears a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a white feather, a pink tunic, a dark blue mantle, and a cape lined with white fur, all rendered with subtle chromatic transitions. Two lambs stand on either side of the female figure, each adorned with roses that the shepherdess offers them tenderly. The composition is structured around a central axis that highlights the main figure, whose soft features and peaceful gaze evoke the idealization characteristic of colonial viceregal art. The decorative treatment of the garments, along with the somewhat naive rigidity of the animals, reveals a devotional sensibility typical of popular religious art in the Hispanic American world. The use of warm, contrasting colors and the stylization of the natural elements reinforce its symbolic expressiveness. This piece is fully inscribed within the Marian iconography of the Divine Shepherdess, a devotion widespread in the colonial world since the 18th century. Measurements: 82 × 61 cm; with frame 88 × 67 cm.
