Title: The Immaculate Conception
Description: The Immaculate Conception is a painting by Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770). It depicts the Virgin Mary, surrounded by angels and crowned with the circle of stars. She is shown trampling a snake, representing her victory over the devil. The lilies and the rose are references to hortus conclusus ("enclosed garden"), and symbolize Mary's love, virginity and purity. The painting was one of seven altarpieces commissioned in March 1767 from Tiepolo by King Charles III of Spain for the Church of Saint Pascual in Aranjuez, then under construction. This was originally an Alcantarine (Franciscan) monastery that was later assigned to the Conceptionist nuns. Both orders promoted the cult of the Immaculate Conception. The painting is now in the Prado Museum, Madrid.
Author(s): Giovanni Battista Tiepolo