Simon Pereyns (c. 1530–1600) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

painter. He moved to Lisbon,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

in 1558 and later to

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. In 1566, he moved to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

where he gained fame as a painter of numerous works, most of which have not survived. He created the

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

Huejotzingo Huejotzingo ( is a small city and municipality located just northwest of the city of Puebla, in central Mexico. The settlement's history dates back to the pre-Hispanic period, when it was a dominion, with its capital a short distance from where th ...

at the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

convent of Huejotzingo in

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

, one of the

monasteries on the slopes of Popocatépetl The Earliest Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatepetl ( es, Primeros Monasterios en las faldas del Popocatépetl) are fifteen 16th-century monasteries which were built by the Augustinians, the Franciscans and the Dominicans in order to evangeliz ...

. Included in his works is a depiction of '' Saint Christopher''. His most important work was probably the Virgin of Forgiveness that formed the centerpiece of the Altar of Forgiveness at the

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Me ...

. This work, along with the altar, was destroyed during a fire in 1967. This painting is the origin of various legends. According to one, the altar received its name because Pereyns, while in jail accused of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

, painted a beautiful image of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

, whereby he earned forgiveness. Another spurious legend attributed this painting to an unknown master working at the behest of a Jewish patron. This patron supposedly commissioned the painting to give himself the pleasure of hanging it in his horse stable. Documentary evidence shows that the Virgin of Forgiveness was indeed painted by Pereyns. The painting was the price he had to pay after his trial by the Inquisition. After he was deposed and tortured by the Inquisition, he was ordered to paint a Virgin de los Remedios for the cathedral. This painting later became known as the Virgin of Forgiveness.

References

1530s births 1600 deaths {{Flemish-painter-stub