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Immaculata Exhibit Closes December 30!
November/December 2019
 The Immaculate Conception (detail), hand-carved and polychromed wood and gesso, circa 1770s. Photo by Marlena Krcelich |
For the first time in 75 years, SOHO is exhibiting a rare, 18th-century sculpture of the Immaculate Conception at the Adobe Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in Old Town San Diego through December 29. The serene, hand-carved and polychrome figure of the Virgin Mary, which originally graced the 18th-century presidio chapel, stood for decades on this chapel's marbleized wood altar, made in 1858. SOHO is returning her to his historic spot and offering a free commemorative brochure about the statue and the chapel to mark San Diego's 250th year and SOHO's 50th. Learn more about the Immaculata exhibit and click HERE to download the illustrated brochure.
Early Spanish settlers and clergy considered the Immaculata to be the female equivalent of the better-known male protector Saint Didacus (Diego), for whom the city is named. This beloved, four-foot-tall icon went missing around 1945 and seemingly faded from public awareness. Called one of the most beautiful works of Spanish Colonial art in California by historian James L. Nolan, he eventually found her at the Mission San Luis Rey Museum in Oceanside.
"The Immaculata represents a real and tangible connection to the city's early residents and their cultural and spiritual lives," said Bruce Coons, SOHO's executive director and historian. "It is especially fitting that, after an absence of over 100 years, this highly venerated statue returns to the Adobe Chapel in commemoration of San Diego's 250th year."
The Adobe Chapel, 3963 Conde Street, Old Town San Diego, is open free of charge on Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 5pm and on weekdays by appointment. Visit SOHOsandiego.org for more information.
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