Attributed to José de Ibarra (Guadalajara, 1685 - Mexico City,1756)"The Madonna of Passau" Oil on copper. 28 x 22,5 cm. The painter was born in New Galicia, currently in Guadalajara, at the time of the viceroyalty. He trained in the workshops of important painters such as Juan Correa or the brothers Juan and Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez. His themes were, as was almost inevitable at the time, religious. With his sweet style and great knowledge of the human figure, in addition to Spanish influence, a relationship with Italian and French painting of the time can also be appreciated. The National Museum of Art of Mexico keeps a large collection of works by the painter. The original work from which this series of Madonnas of Passau derives, was painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder, circa 1537, for the prince-electors of Saxony. Its dissemination was due to the engraving by Adriaen Melar (1633-1667) (PESSCA 1527A, https://colonialart.org/artworks/1527A/view). The Marian dedication is known as Our Lady Passaviense, a Latin form to refer to "of Passau", a German city on the Danube, bordering Austria, where the cult of the image and its diffusion arose, as in this case, to New Spain. An example by an anonymous author, circa 1700 - 1800, of Our Lady of Passabiense, is held in the collection of the Museo Amparo in Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico. The historian Héctor Schenone has thoroughly studied the origin of this particular invocation of the Virgin Mary, indicating, with regard to its origin: “In the group of paintings-portraits of Mary attributed to Saint Luke, there is the type called Eleusa (affectionate) and Glycophilusa (the one who embraces with tenderness), to whom two churches in Constantinople were dedicated in the first half of the 12th century. It highlights the affectionate impulse of the protagonists and shows the Virgin in her maternal condition as she embraces her Son and he does the same, passing an arm around his Mother's neck while they join their cheeks."Regarding the diffusion of the image, as we already mentioned, it was carried out by Lucas Cranach the Elder, Schenoneque adds: "At the beginning of the 17th century, it was given to the Archduke-Bishop of Passau, where it was transferred some time later, specifically to the parish of Innsbruck, where it was exhibited from 1650. While it was still in Passau, circa 1622, a vicar had it copied, this replica being known as Passaviensis, being worshipped as a protector against water and plague. The copy spread more than the original work through other copies and engravings, and it is believed that it came to Latin America through the influence of the Jesuits of the area who came to these lands.” Bibliographic references:- Schenone, Héctor H. (2008). "Santa María: iconografía del arte colonial". (pp. 460-461). Educa.