Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins
- Pedro Noriega, Mexican, 1736-1781
- Work Locations: Queretaro
Pedro Noriega, Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins, 1734. Oil paint on canvas; 30 × 39 in. Gift of Dr. Belinda Straight, 1983.596.
According to Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, compiled around 1260, Saint Ursula was a Roman-British princess, the daughter of a Christian king. Hoping to delay her marriage to the pagan son of the king of England, Ursula undertook a three-year pilgrimage in the company of 11,000 virgins. After journeying to Rome, they were joined in their holy cause by the pope and the bishop of Ravenna. Ultimately, the party were slaughtered by the Huns as they made their way north to Cologne, the virgins beheaded and Ursula fatally shot with an arrow. This work shows Ursula and her company of virgins lined up at shore, perhaps as they begin their journey from England to Rome. Ursula is shown at center-left holding a red banner (one of her attributes, visible also in 1969.342) and a lily, a symbol of her purity. The virgin martyrs beside her have each been labeled with their names, and some of them achieved veneration independent of Ursula.
The work is by Pedro José Noriega, an artist active in the city of Querétaro, Mexico, from 1736 to 1781, about whom little else is known. The Denver Art Museum also has a set of archangels attributed to Noriega (see 1980.172.1), and some commonality can be seen between the facial features and hands of the virgins and the archangels.
At the bottom of the painting, an inscription tells us that the work was commissioned by Madre Maria Manuela de los Dolores, most likely an abbess at one of Querétaro’s convents.
– Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2023
