Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez
The Holy Family (La Sagrada Familia)late 17th-early 18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Oil painting of a young woman and bearded man, each with gold halos, holding a nude infant between them against a gold radiating background

Close-up of a dark brown wooden panel surface with handwritten Latin-script inscription in golden-yellow paint, partially worn and difficult to read.

Artist or Maker: Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez
Mexico, 1667-1734
Title: The Holy Family (La Sagrada Familia)
Date Made: late 17th-early 18th century
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: 12 7/8 × 17 3/4 in. (32.7 × 44.1 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2008.118
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez clearly intended his Holy Family to elicit a pious reaction. Viewers directly meet the tender gazes of Mary and the infant Jesus as they receive his blessing. The scene is illuminated by the radiating halos of the three holy figures set against a dark background. The omission of spatial and temporal markers heightens the intimate, emotional power of the small icon, which is signed by the artist on the back.

Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez descended from one of the most important dynasties of painters in New Spain (he was the grandson of José Juárez [1617–1661/62] and the great-great-grandson of Luis Juárez [c. 1585–1639]). Prior to becoming a priest, he was a prolific artist and active member of the painters’ guild, which also included the celebrated Juan Correa (c. 1645–1716) and Cristóbal de Villalpando (c. 1649–1714). Along with his brother Juan Rodríguez Juárez (1675–1728), he established the first academy for artists in Mexico City, around 1722, to elevate the status of painting.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: George Mitchell, London, 1905; by inheritance to private collection; Christie’s, New York, April 6, 2006, lot 214; Derek Johns Ltd., London, 2006; LACMA, 2008.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024

Related Exhibitions

Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez
The Holy Family (La Sagrada Familia)late 17th-early 18th century

On view:

Geffen Galleries

Artist or Maker: Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez
Mexico, 1667-1734
Title: The Holy Family (La Sagrada Familia)
Date Made: late 17th-early 18th century
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: 12 7/8 × 17 3/4 in. (32.7 × 44.1 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund
Accession Number: M.2008.118
Classification: Paintings
Collecting Area: Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes: Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez clearly intended his Holy Family to elicit a pious reaction. Viewers directly meet the tender gazes of Mary and the infant Jesus as they receive his blessing. The scene is illuminated by the radiating halos of the three holy figures set against a dark background. The omission of spatial and temporal markers heightens the intimate, emotional power of the small icon, which is signed by the artist on the back.

Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez descended from one of the most important dynasties of painters in New Spain (he was the grandson of José Juárez [1617–1661/62] and the great-great-grandson of Luis Juárez [c. 1585–1639]). Prior to becoming a priest, he was a prolific artist and active member of the painters’ guild, which also included the celebrated Juan Correa (c. 1645–1716) and Cristóbal de Villalpando (c. 1649–1714). Along with his brother Juan Rodríguez Juárez (1675–1728), he established the first academy for artists in Mexico City, around 1722, to elevate the status of painting.

Ilona Katzew

2024
Provenance: George Mitchell, London, 1905; by inheritance to private collection; Christie’s, New York, April 6, 2006, lot 214; Derek Johns Ltd., London, 2006; LACMA, 2008.
Selected Bibliography: Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.
Selected Exhibition History: Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024
Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800. June 22, 2024 - September 08, 2024