Unfortunately, our Post Office has picked this Peruvian painting for this year’s Christmas stamp.  I’m sorry but if anything, I find this painting offensive and if anything, they have our lady looking like a rag doll. Below it describes the source behind the painting. I can’t justify buying this stamp. In Christ, Joseph Saraceno

Our Lady of Guápulo18th century Peruvian (Cuzco) Painter Peruvian

 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 757

The richly dressed and adorned sculpture depicted in this work originated as a copy of the Spanish Virgin of Guadalupe, commissioned in 1584 by a confraternity of merchants in Quito (Ecuador). Named for the sanctuary in nearby Guápulo where the miracle-working image was venerated, it was invoked by devotees who sought the Virgin Mary’s aid and protection. During last quarter of the 17th century, a painted copy of the sculpture was carried throughout the Andes on a mission to gather alms for the construction of a new sanctuary, resulting in a demand for locally produced copies like this one by a Cuzco painter.