Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Codex
The main pictorial elements are:
1. A rocky landscape with sparse foliage and a small man in the distance.
2. Face
The woman's face shows great compassion. The Indians felt that the face was the window of the inner person, a means by which one could read who a person was -- the way a person would act. A good woman to the Indians was one whose femininity showed in her face. The head of the woman in the image shows her with dark skin and dark hair like that of the Indians.
3. Hands
Her hands are not poised in the traditional Western style of prayer, but in an Indian manner of offering, indicating that something is being offered, that something is to come from her.
4. Maternity Band The maternity band around the woman's waist was the sign of a pregnant woman, a mother who is about to give birth, it was a sign to the Indians that someone is yet to come. 5. Stars The stars on the mantle are a sign that a new civilization, or era, is beginning. The Indian …More