The curatorial choices in the gallery we visited were very interesting. I would love to see the gallery as it typically stands, as it was mentioned that most of that gallery is a permanent exhibit. The juxtaposition of European and South American art on the central block was particularly interesting in the development of how people viewed the figure of Mary. The use of the black Madonna by the Mexican artists reflects issues of race and color that must have been present in that colonial society, allowing the divine figures of the Madonna and Child to take on a darker skin tone than Europeans had typically presented them with for centuries. The Peruvian painting also seemed to emphasize the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The dove representing the Holy Spirit was the source of light, rather than the Father, who was also depicted, or Jesus, who was not depicted as it was a scene before his birth. This theological focus on the Holy Spirit is typically reflective of a focus on revelation or inspiration, rather than the Old or New Testament authority of the Father and Jesus, respectively.
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