Coronación de La Madre de Dios de Begoña, by José Etxenagusia (1902).
On 8 September 1900, Bilbao staged a celebration that fused devotion with civic pride: the canonical crowning of the Madre de Dios de Begoña—the “Amatxu”—timed to the city’s 600th anniversary. Bells, banners, and an entire town in procession set the tempo.
In 1902, José Etxenagusia (Echena) turned that day into a sweeping canvas for the Basilica of Begoña. He sets the scene outside the west portal: the crowned image lifted high, clergy massed around her, guards framing a dense, recognizably urban crowd. Look closer and the painting becomes a civic portrait as much as a devotional one, a who’s who of Bilbao under one crown.
Crucially, the coronation marked a leap into modern light. Under the guidance of diocesan architect José María Basterra, electric lighting illuminated the festivities—processions stepping out of candlelight into a steady, urban glow. Etxenagusia paints that quiet voltage on faces and fabrics: a city confident enough to bless the future without dimming the past.
Stand before the canvas today and grandeur draws you in, but belonging lingers. Here Bilbao remembers itself—a community stitching faith to progress, incense to electricity—and leaves the proof on a single, generous sheet of light and color.
