Miraculous Image Motion: Multiplication and Dissemination of the Virgin Mary throughout the Hispanic World

Nora Guggenbühler

Recent years have seen growing scholarly interest in the role of Marian images in the expansion and consolidation of both the Catholic Church and the Spanish Empire. However, the significance of copies of these images in this process has yet to be systematically explored. This project addresses this gap by analyzing the multiplication and dissemination of Marian images through religious, political, and economic networks across the Spanish Empire. Focusing on the Madonna di Trapani, a marble statue of the Virgin Mary housed in the Carmelite church of Santissima Annunziata in Trapani, Sicily, this study will trace the movement of its replicas between Sicily, Spain, and Latin America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Through a series of case studies, this project will examine how these copies functioned not only as religious but also as political agents, fostering interconnected devotional topographies across the Hispanic world. These case studies span a wide range of media, including small-scale statuettes in coral and alabaster, oil paintings, and prints, each offering a unique perspective on how the Virgin’s thaumaturgical power was transferred through replicas. Central to this inquiry is the examination of how these copies maintained a dual connection—both to their original site of veneration and to the new contexts in which they were integrated.
This approach also contributes to the broader discourse on the dynamics of original and copy within the context of transregional artistic exchange in the early modern period. By investigating how copies of the Madonna di Trapani circulated and how their miraculous powers were transmitted, this research challenges traditional hierarchies between “original” and “copy”, as well as “center” and “periphery.” Ultimately, this project will enrich our understanding of Marian devotion and provide new insights into the transregional dynamics of image circulation in the early modern Hispanic world.