Our Lady of Guápulo, this year’s religious-themed Christmas stamp, will be released Oct. 20.
The stamp features a detail of “Our Lady of Guápulo,” which was painted in the 18th century by an unknown artist in Cuzco, Peru.
The painting shows the Virgin Mary — wearing a crown, enrobed in a pyramidal gown speckled with jewels and holding a scepter woven with roses and leaves — looking down at a similarly adorned Christ Child in her left arm. A red rosary ropes across the center of her dress and down to her right.
The painting is from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Greg Breeding, a USPS art director, designed the stamp, which will be available in panes of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com.
Our Lady of Guápulo will be one of several holiday stamp releases this year, along with Holiday Delights, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Winter Scenes.
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