"By the time the Church promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854, all social classes in Navarre had been celebrating the Mystery for several centuries". These were the words pronounced by Ricardo Fernández Gracia, Deputy Director of the department of Art History of the University of Navarra, during the presentation of his book La Inmaculada Concepción en Navarra: arte y devoción durante los siglos del Barroco (The Immaculate Conception in Navarra: art and devotion during the Baroque centuries).

With it, the University of Navarra joins the 150th anniversary of the declaration of the dogma. In the prologue, Archbishop Fernando Sebastián, Archbishop of Pamplona and Bishop of Tudela, states that "the conceptionist vows of the Cortes of Navarre and many city councils show how our ancestors felt the greatness of the Mother of God".

The author analyzes in the work the immaculist movement that took place in the region in the Modern Age, a period for which "the iconography had given the best of itself", as he indicated. Likewise, he approaches the celebrations with which all the social classes and political and religious institutions celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception that, from 1765, obtained the rank of co-patron saint of Navarre, together with San Fermin and San Francisco Javier.

Immaculate representations in Navarra

In his speech, Ricardo Fernández Gracia emphasized that the publication is not limited to studying the images from an aesthetic point of view, but "they are contextualized within history and worship: their function, use...".

For her part, Concepción García Gainza, director of department of Art History, pointed out that "the devotion to the Immaculate Conception has reliable testimonies since medieval times and increased over the centuries. The author has reflected this aspect and has combined it with others in which art historians are increasingly interested, such as the ceremonial issue, the festivities or the protocol".

He also assured that Navarra has "excellent immaculist representations of the 18th century, and the publication includes a very rich sample ". Among them, he mentioned the canvas of Antonio González (Museum of Navarra) and the sculpture of Luis Salvador Carmona in the main altarpiece of Lesaca.

Professor Jaime Nubiola, Vice President of University Extension and International Office of the University of Navarra, and Beatriz Martínez, director publishing house of EUNSA, which has published the book, also took part in the presentation .