Spanish Colonial, Mexico, ca. late 19th century CE. A dramatic, hand-painted gauge tin retablo depicting Saint Camillus de Lellis (also Camillo, San Camilo) in his black habit attending to a man on his deathbed. Holding a candle in his left hand and a Crucifix in his right, San Camilo ministers last rites to the dying man as his soul rises behind him in the form of a skeleton. Thwarted demons who were attempting to grab the man's soul appear to pout beneath the bed and by the window. This example is painted in the inimitable style of Concepcion Avila, the master from the Rancho San Jose de los Otates in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Avila is also referred to as the "Bee-Stung Lip Painter" and the "Painter with Malice Toward No One." Size: 7" W x 9.5" H (17.8 cm x 24.1 cm)

Saint Camillus is oftentimes called the "Red Cross Saint" for obvious reasons. He was the founder of the Ministers of the Sick where he instituted humane hospital treatment. In addition, his order wore a red cross on the right breast of their black habit as we see depicted in this retablo. Early in life, Camillus was rather dissolute - a gambler, he lost everything that he owned. Seeing the error of his ways, he devoted himself to the Franciscan Order and accepted work as a laborer at the Capucin buildings at Manfredonia where he completed his conversion. He attempted to enter the novitiate of the Franciscans but was turned away, because of his diseased leg. And so he returned to the hospital of San Giacomo, where he had been treated previously and devoted himself to treating the ill.

Provenance: private Oglesby, Illinois, USA collection, acquired in the 1990s from various Western US auction galleries

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#184328

Some light bending to tin and minor surface wear as shown, but otherwise intact and excellent with clear imagery, nice detail, and bright colors. Light patina in areas. Old hinge fitting at top from previous attachment.