Uploaded March 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Purissima is among Joseph Stella’s most striking religious paintings. Standing nearly life size, like an altarpiece, the figure recalls spiritual paintings found in churches across Italy or the sculptures often adorned with flowers and fruit and paraded through the streets in religious processions. Here the Madonna is part Christian icon and part goddess of nature—the soaring stems of the pink lilies delineate a celestial throne, a common feature in traditional imagery, while the stamen of the central flower suggests the Virgin’s crown. Flanking her on either side are Mount Vesuvius and the outline of Capri, landmarks of the Bay of Naples.
Watch Stephanie Heydt, Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of American Art, discuss this monumental painting, and see it in person in Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature through May 21 in the Cousins Special Exhibition Galleries, Second Level, Wieland Pavilion.
Visit the High Museum: high.org
Purissima is among Joseph Stella’s most striking religious paintings. Standing nearly life size, like an altarpiece, the figure recalls spiritual paintings found in churches across Italy or the sculptures often adorned with flowers and fruit and paraded through the streets in religious processions. Here the Madonna is part Christian icon and part goddess of nature—the soaring stems of the pink lilies delineate a celestial throne, a common feature in traditional imagery, while the stamen of the central flower suggests the Virgin’s crown. Flanking her on either side are Mount Vesuvius and the outline of Capri, landmarks of the Bay of Naples.
Watch Stephanie Heydt, Margaret and Terry Stent Curator of American Art, discuss this monumental painting, and see it in person in Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature through May 21 in the Cousins Special Exhibition Galleries, Second Level, Wieland Pavilion.
Visit the High Museum: high.org
