Latin America, Mexico, ca. 1913 CE. Dedicated to the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos (of the Lakes) depicting a shrouded woman at her injured husband's bedside alongside a vision of the Holy Virgin Mary, crowned and enrobed in blue, gold, and white, standing upon a crescent moon and floating above clouds in all her hallowed presence. The text beneath generally translates, "On the 13th of December of the year 1913, Antonio Rodrigos injured himself and his wife gazed upon him so sadly and invoked Our Lady the Virgin of San Juan de los Lagos (of the lakes) with all her heart, and she cured him, and in tribute they give her this retablo." Size: 7-1/2" x 5" (19.1 x 12.7 cm).

Ex-votos are narrative paintings indicative of healing or blessing popular in Mexican visual culture. This tradition was inspired by the Greeks and was brought to the New World by the Spaniards. These votive paintings were hung in a church or placed adjacent to an image in order to celebrate and give thanks for the recovery of the donor from an illness or dangerous situation. In essence, ex-votos represent the spiritual or physical gains received by the donor. These paintings include hand painted passages that relate the details of the cure or the rescue. Oftentimes, however, this commentary is replete with regional dialect and difficult to translate. Nevertheless, if you are familiar with the Spanish language, you will probably get the gyst of these anecdotal paintings.

Provenance: Ex-Historia Antiques, James Caswell, Santa Monica, CA.

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#109732

Expected bending and surface wear. Perforation at top center. Text is still quite legible.