Visitation – Sculpture in La Serena

Visitation represents the meeting between Mary and Elizabeth recounted in the Gospel of Luke, when both women were expecting children. Lily Garafulic concentrates the episode in the embrace of two women: their bodies draw close, their arms cross over shoulders and torsos, and the figures are gathered into a single vertical mass. By omitting a setting and narrative attributes, the sculpture places mutual recognition and emotional closeness at the center of the scene.

The work retains recognizable faces and hands while simplifying anatomy and drapery through compact volumes, grooves, and carved planes. This combination of figuration and formal synthesis belongs to Garafulic's modern sculptural exploration, which moved from naturalism toward abstraction without entirely abandoning the human figure.

The catalogue of the 59th Official Salon of 1947 already lists a Visitation by Lily Garafulic, executed by direct carving in Colina stone. Gabriel González Videla's memoirs later include the work in La Serena among the Chilean sculptures of the Plan Serena, identifying it as an original by the artist in yellow stone. The matching title, artist, technique, and material support linking the two records, although the documentation reviewed does not yet establish the acquisition process, transportation, or exact installation date on the avenue.