With today being the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, there seemed to be no better time to feature an interesting and beautiful work of stucco found on the facade of the thirteenth century church of "los Santos Juanes" in Valencia, Spain -- the Royal Parish of Saints John (Real Parroquia de los Santos Juanes).
The sculpture in question is attributed to one Giacomo Bertesi (+1710), a Genoese artist of the baroque period, and is found on the rear facade of the church, seen here:
(For those wondering about the generally baroque decoration of the structure, the church was subject to numerous fires throughout its history, the last of which in happened close to the beginning of the 1600's, necessitating substantive rebuilding efforts which were completed in the year 1700.)
Bertesi's depiction of the Virgen del Rosario requires little in the way of descriptive detail as the contents are plain enough and rather self-evident, but there are a few details to point out. Most evidently, we find the Virgin and Child centrally, with two cherubs holding a crown of twelve stars over the head of the Virgin, while another cherub presents a cross-topped orb (known as a globus cruciger) to the Christ Child, representing Christ's dominion over the world. Behind with see a glorious burst of rays (aureole) while to either side we see two angels, specifically the archangels Michael and Gabriel, kneeling in adoration, St. Michael holds up his hand to the Rosary held in the hand of the Blessed Virgin while St. Gabriel prostrates to the Virgin and Child in an attitude of humility.
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| The Virgin of the Rosary |
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| St. Michael |
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| St. Gabriel |
Located beneath the feet of the Virgin are the Latin words, "Non tibi sit grave diccere Mater Ave" which implore the observer to not find it burdensome to say ,"Hail, Mother."
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| "Non tibi sit grave diccere Mater Ave" |
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