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Place of Origin: Mexican
Original Mexican Retablo "Exvotos" Oil on Tin
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this original Mexican Retablo "Exvotos" oil on tin, circa 1920.
Category
1920s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Metal
Rare and Antique Mexican Carousel Horse
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1920. We offer this wonderfully charming Carousel Horse from Mexico. Handmade caved from wood with fabulous patina.
Category
1910s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Talavera Folk Art Pottery Charger - Hand Painted - Mexico - Circa 1980's
Located in Chatham, ON
Mexican Talavera folk art glazed terracotta charger or plate - large size - hand made - featuring hand painted leaves and flowers within an elaborate border with swirls - two holes t...
Category
Late 20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Terracotta
Teotihuacan Ceramic Head Fragment
Located in Chicago, IL
This intriguing head fragment was once attached to a bust or full effigy figurine crafted in 400 A.D. Mesoamerica. Earthenware figurines were made in great abundance throughout Teotihuacan's history. After 250 A.D. objects made from clay increased dramatically in Teotihuacan, serving a wide variety of purposes and functions from religious rituals to burial offerings.
Figurines like this commemorated important people and events within the city of Teotihuacan and other parts of Mesoamerica, portraying individuals of different rank and status such as soldiers, merchants, bureaucrats, and occasionally divinities. This figure is adorned with an elaborate headdress, a thick beaded necklace...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Pre-Columbian Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic
Mexican Burnished Clay Folk Art Ancient Pre-Hispanic Handmade Vase with Handles
By Silvia Martínez Díaz
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
In the heart of the Sierra Norte Mountains in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, the settlers found that this "cold place" gave them a very special gift, clay, with which they could use to create their household goods.
One of the most famous artisans of this region is Silvia Martínez Díaz...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Rustic Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Clay
Handmade Leather Gym Punching Boxing Heavy Bag
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this Leather Gym Punching Boxing Heavy Bag. This piece is made of vintage leather and vintage chains following the design of the ancients pun...
Category
2010s Industrial Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Leather
Mexican Vintage Ken Edwards Tonala Pottery Hand Painted Quail Bird
By Ken Edwards
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Ken Edwards Mexican ceramic quail bird form Tonala Pottery.
Beautiful vintage Mexican hand made and hand painted TONALA Art Pottery.
Deco...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Pottery
Mexican Tonala Pottery Hand Painted Bird Folk Art
By Tonala Pottery
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Mexican Tonala hand painted pottery bird Folk Art.
Flora de la Cruz Acapulco Gro Mexico hand painted bird dove ceramic.
Warm earth tone polych...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Talavera Jar Decorative Vase Folk Art Vessel Mexican Ceramic Blue White
By Cesar
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Elegant white and blue jar made with the authentic Talavera technique. Master artisan, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico.
The Talavera is not just a simple painted ceramic: its exquisite decoration is the product of a delicate process of alchemy that translates into fine enamels. In Puebla, Mexico few people still produce using Talavera with the ancestral techniques.
One of those few is Cesar Torres, Don Cesar...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Colonial Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Tonala Folk Art Pottery Plate Hand Painted with Birds, Mexico, circa 1960's
By Ken Edwards
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Handcrafted Ken Edwards ceramic plate Tonala Mexico Folk Art Pottery.
Vintage Ken Edwards Mexican ceramic birds and flowers from Tonala Pottery.
...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic
Folk Art Mid-Century Modern Blown Red Art Glass Face Masks, México
Located in Miami, FL
Mid-Century Modern Folk Art blown red glass face masks made in México.
O-602-335
Category
1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Blown Glass
Authentic Talavera Decorative Plate Folk Art Vessel Mexican Ceramic Blue White
By Cesar
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Elegant white and blue plate made with the Talavera technique. Artist, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico.
The Talavera is not just a simple painted ceramic: its exquisite decoration is the product of a delicate process of alchemy that translates into fine enamels. In Puebla, Mexico few people still produce using Talavera with the ancestral techniques.
One of those few is Cesar Torres, Don Cesar learned his art in the workshop of the Uriarte family, an excellent workshop where his grandfather worked. In his creations he uses the black and white mud that is obtained from the nearby hills of Loreto and Guadalupe, and colors of mineral origin that he creates in his workshop with recipes from his grandfather.
All the pieces are modeled in a traditional way and go through a production process that usually takes from one to two months, between drying, burning, and painting.
Being surrounded by a living tradition, Cesar Torres Jr., learned from his father since childhood. Architect by profession, Cesar Jr. has come to revolutionize and modernize with new designs and ideas of the current world, nevertheless always respecting the tradition of the processes and materials that make Talavera a Creole art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Colonial Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Clay, Ceramic, Majolica
Mata Ortiz Pottery Vessel by Pilo Mora, 1990
By Pilo Mora
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Mata Ortiz Polychrome Pottery vessel
Pilo Mora, Master Potter (1961 - )
1990
Hand coiled low fire clay
Pueblo Quezada, Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico
7 inches H. x 7.5 inches in Diameter
A classic example of this Master Potter's early work appearing in near excellent condition.
This Pilo Mora pot has remained in my private collection since 1990 and has never been offered on the market before.
Porfirio Mora Villalba, or Pilo Mora is one of the pioneers of Mata Ortiz Pottery...
Category
Late 20th Century Other Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Clay
Vintage Mexican Serape from Mexico
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A finely crafted and vibrantly hued striped hand loomed wool serape from Saltillo, Mexico.
Category
1920s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wool
Antique Mexican Diablo Mask
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this rare and very antique Mexican Diablo mask in wood, circa 1940. Great patina.
Category
1940s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Hand Woven Mixtec Mexican Colourful Wool Serape Blanket
Located in New York, NY
Handwoven wool serape blanket from the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico with traditional Mixtec symbols, circa 1950s.
Category
Mid-20th Century Tribal Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wool
Antique Mexican Demon Mask
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
We offer this rare antique Mexican Demon mask in wood, circa 1970. The mask makes a sound when moved.
Category
1970s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Vintage Mexican Tonala Pottery Hand Painted Bird
By Tonala Pottery
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Mexican Tonala hand painted pottery bird Folk Art.
Flora de la Cruz Acapulco Gro Mexico hand painted bird dove ceramic.
Warm earth tone polych...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Pottery
Mexican Arbol de la Vida Tree Life Dolls ColorFolk Art Ceramic Clay Candelabra
By Marco Antonio Castillo
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
This colorful tree of life (árbol de la vida) with a toy like aspect is a unique piece by Marco Antonio Castillo, son of renowned artist Alfonso Castillo. Hand made with natural clay...
Category
2010s Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Clay
Antique Set of Mexican Papier-Mâché Masks 2
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this antique set of 5 Mexican papier-mâché masks 100% handmade and paited with anilina (natural pigments).
Category
1960s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paper
20th C Original Painted Bank
Located in Los Angeles, CA
20th C original painted bank from Mexico. The bank is more Gray than the photos.
Category
20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Pottery
Spanish Colonial Gilt Wood Reliquary or Table Box
Located in Pasadena, CA
This is an outstanding example of a late 18th/early 19th century Spanish Colonial Reliquary or table box. The emerald green combined with th...
Category
Late 18th Century Spanish Colonial Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Gold Leaf
Wood Toy Mexican Calavera Skeleton Day of the Dead Traditional Colorful Folk Art
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Master artisans Sanjuana España Rodríguez and husband Guillermo Trejo Soriano (Guanajuato, México) have been known for hand crafting Mexican traditional toys. Sanjuana's late father ...
Category
2010s Arts and Crafts Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Acrylic, Wood
1930s Jointed Betty Boop Fleischer Doll
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1930. We offer this Jointed wooden Betty Boop doll by Fleischer in a green dress.
This is one of the first Betty Boop dolls that were created in...
Category
1930s Industrial Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Large Round Green and Brown Woven Basket, Mexico
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A large round woven natural fiber basket in green. Handmade in Mexico by local artisans, this beauty will be fantastic hanging on a wall in a grouping of other baskets, or on a table...
Category
20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Natural Fiber
Pre-Columbian Central Mexico Pottery Man
Located in Coeur d'Alene, ID
Pre-Columbian central Mexico pottey man. Probably Tlatilco. Seated man figure vessel. 4” x 3” x 4 ¼”. 100 BCE - 250 CE. Ex. Hank Johnson Collection. Hank Johnson was a geologist, and...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Clay
Antique Ships Wheel, circa 1800
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1800, we offer this rare antique Ships Wheel. made in wood and forged steel. Very rare and ancient piece Ideal for the collector of antique nautical objects.
Category
Mid-18th Century Folk Art Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Spanish Colonial Mexican Folk Art Ex-Voto Retablo Painting Catholic Saint 1800s
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful 19th-century Spanish Colonial Mexican Folk Art ex-voto retablo lámina painting featuring an unknown Spanish Roman Catholic Saint.
The work is hand-painted on metal (li...
Category
19th Century Folk Art Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Metal, Tin
Mexican Hand Painted Colorful Tonala Pottery Ducks Set of Three
By Tonala Pottery, Sergio Bustamante
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Mexican Tonala hand painted pottery birds Folk Art with brass decoration in the style of Sergio Bustamante.
Vintage Mexican ceramic and brass hand painted Tonala pottery duc...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Brass
Fantastic Large Mexican Indian Weaving Pillow
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large Mexican Indian Weaving Pillow. This Pillow is beautiful. Nice Quality Linen Backing and zippered casing. Feather and down Insert.
Category
20th Century Navajo Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wool
Native American Indigenous Zapotec or Navajo Handwoven Tree of Life Rug Blanket
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully designed and colored, intricately woven Zapotec or Navajo Indian Tree of Life pictorial rug/blanket/wall hanging featuring multi-colored birds perched on the vibrant tr...
Category
20th Century Native American Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wool
Anatomical Medical Teaching Display, circa 1960
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this complete Mexican Anatomical Medical Teaching Display. All pieces such as organs and the interior of the head such as the brain can be disassembled.
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Plastic
Mexican Copper Brass and Abalone Grasshopper Centerpiece Sculpture
Located in New York, NY
Hand-wrought circa 1960s copper and brass grasshopper centerpiece sculpture with abalone inlay eyes and legs. Signed underneath, COBRE MEXICO.
Also ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Brass, Copper
Mid-20th Century Black Dance Mask, Guerrero, Mexico
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Mid-20th century black dance mask, Guerrero, Mexico
A nice old mask from Guererro, Mexico, used in the Tlacololero Dance of the Tlactapa and probably fr...
Category
1940s Tribal Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Pair Handmade Painted Acrobatic Papier Mache Clowns Mexico Attr Jeanne Valentine
By Jeanne Valentine
Located in Topeka, KS
Fabulous handmade & hand painted vintage acrobatic Papier Mache clowns from Mexico attributed to Jeanne Valentine a pair. Beautiful condition, keeping...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paste, Paint, Paper
Rare Jaguar Wood Figure Found in Chilapa, Guerrero, Southern México, ca. 1940
By NONO
Located in Guadalajra, Jal
This vintage hand carved and hand painted Tiger, is presumed to have been made in or near Chilapa, Guerrero in circa 1940 in a Folk Art style. The carving has been made in a naive st...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Cylindrical Art Glass Chess and Wood Lathed Table
By Orfeo Quagliata
Located in Naucalpan, Edo de Mex
This Board Games edition presents classic games and decorative pieces like Backgammon, Chess and Tic Tac Toe, made out of wood and glass.
Since 2000, Orfeo Quagliata offers a remarkable consistency based in design and a fine technical work in glass. He creates custom interior design projects, as well as furniture, jewelry and decorative elements.
Orfeo takes his most interesting glass techniques to apply them in the inserts of the table. The "Barcodes" technique is a fine linear design with schemes of different colors that contrast with the wood. For the chess pieces, Orfeo applies the exclusive "Jimmiz...
Category
2010s Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Art Glass, Wood
Ceramic Pre-Columbian Colima Hunchback Figure Vessel
Located in Atlanta, GA
A pre-Columbian figural vessel from West Mexico Colima culture (circa 300BC-400AD). Made of molded clay, the stoneware vessel depicts a seated hunchback...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Pre-Columbian Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic
Vintage Pre-Columbian Style Pottery Centerpiece
Located in Dallas, TX
PRESENTING a LOVELY piece of reproduction Native American Antiquity, namely, a Vintage Pre-Columbian Style Pottery Centerpiece.
We are of the opinion that this was made circa the ea...
Category
Early 20th Century Pre-Columbian Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Terracotta
Mexican Wood Toy Colorful Wheel of Fortune Folk Art Handmade Artisanal Mechanic
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
By master artisans Sanjuana España Rodríguez and husband Guillermo Trejo Soriano (Guanajuato, México) have been known for hand crafting Mexican traditional toys. Sanjuana's late fath...
Category
2010s Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Acrylic, Wood
Toucan Sculpture by Sergio Bustamante
By Sergio Bustamante
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Copper, brass and aluminium Toucan on a hoop hanging stand by Sergio Bustamante, circa 1960.
Sergio Bustamante is a Mexican Artist and sculptor. He began with paintings and papier ...
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Metal
Sergio Bustamante Early Lion Papier-mâché Sculpture Hand-painted, 1975
By Sergio Bustamante
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Sergio Bustamante (20th century, Mexican) life sized paper mache lion from the early years of his Family Workshop Studio in Tlequepaque, Jalisco, Mexi...
Category
Late 20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paper
Large Vintage Latin American Hispanic Devil Diablo Folk Art Mask with Horns
Located in Studio City, CA
A fantastic piece. Really quite unique. We have not seen another quite like it.
Made from heavy wood and features real horns.
Likely South or Central American or perhaps from Mexico.
Has clear signs of use and age so we are estimating early to mid-20th century.
Would make for a terrific addition to any folk or tribal mask collection...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paint, Wood
Mexican Burnished Clay Hand Oaxaca Sculpture Mixtec Ceramic Organic Pre-Hispanic
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Mexican Ceramic Clay Hand Sculpture by Manuel Reyes Handmade Folk Art from Oaxaca
This Mexican ceramic hand sculpture is a one-of-a-kind piece handcrafted by renowned ceramic artis...
Category
2010s Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Clay
Authentic Talavera Decorative Vase Folk Art Vessel Mexican Ceramic Blue White
By Cesar
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
Elegant white and blue vase made with the Talavera technique. Artist, Cesar Torres portraits the colonial art of Mexico.
The Talavera is not just a simple painted ceramic: its exquisite decoration is the product of a delicate process of alchemy that translates into fine enamels. In Puebla, Mexico few people still produce using Talavera with the ancestral techniques.
One of those few is Cesar Torres, Don Cesar learned his art in the workshop of the Uriarte family, an excellent workshop where his grandfather worked. In his creations he uses the black and white mud that is obtained from the nearby hills of Loreto and Guadalupe, and colors of mineral origin that he creates in his workshop with recipes from his grandfather.
All the pieces are modeled in a traditional way and go through a production process that usually takes from one to two months, between drying, burning, and painting.
Being surrounded by a living tradition, Cesar Torres Jr., learned from his father since childhood. Architect by profession, Cesar Jr. has come to revolutionize and modernize with new designs and ideas of the current world, nevertheless always respecting the tradition of the processes and materials that make Talavera a Creole art...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Colonial Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic, Clay, Majolica
Mexican Antique Dolores Porras Clay Pottery Folk Art Terracotta Vessel Vase
By Dolores Porras
Located in Queretaro, Queretaro
This one of a kind Mexican antique is one of few pieces Dolores had at her home at the time she passed away. Dolores portrays the flora from her garden...
Category
Early 2000s Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Terracotta, Clay, Pottery
Los Castillo Mexican Multi Metal Leaf Pitcher
By Los Castillo
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Multiple metal philodendron leaf handle pitcher by Mexican Designer Los Castillo - the pitcher is made of four metals that appear to be, Copper, Silver, Brass and Nickel. The Pitcher...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Silver, Brass, Copper
Large Mexican Folk Art Pottery Sculpture of a Female Depicting Life & Death
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This large and striking Folk Art pottery sculpture is unsigned, but believed to have been done in Mexico or South America in a contemporary Folk Art style. The sculpture is a study of a young woman of color wearing a brightly printed dress and accessorized with large deep red rose earrings...
Category
Late 20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Pottery
Antique Set of Mexican Papier-Mâché Masks
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this antique set of 6 Mexican papier-mâché masks 100% handmade and paited with anilina (natural pigments).
Category
1960s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paper
Mixtec Cloud and Thunder Symbol Serape Blanket Oaxaca Mexico
Located in New York, NY
Mixtec wool serape blanket, handwoven with traditional cloud and thunder symbols. Slit opening in middle for wearing. Hand knotted fringe.
Oaxaca, Mexi...
Category
Mid-20th Century Tribal Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wool
Antique Coins Game Used in Mexican Fairs
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1980. We offer this antique coins game used in Mexican Fairs.
The piece is placed on the floor and coins are thrown from a certain distance. The ide...
Category
1980s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Wood
Black and White Resin and Wood Tic Tac Toe by Paola Valle
By Paola Valle
Located in Ciudad De México, MX
Our Tic Tac Toe is a beautiful, modern and fun take on the classic game. The three dimensional pieces are handmade in white resin with black marbled texture and the board is made of ...
Category
2010s Modern Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Resin, Wood
Hand Crafted and Beautifully Painted Dolls found in Southern Mexico, Early 20th
By G. None
Located in Guadalajra, Jal
Hand Crafted and Beautifully Painted Doll found in Southern Mexico, Early 20th Century.
Origin: Villa de Zaachila, Oaxaca / Southern México.
Category
Early 20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Leather, Wood
Antique Set of Mexican Papier-Mâché Masks 3
Located in Mexico City, CDMX
Circa 1960. We offer this antique set of 6 Mexican papier-mâché masks 100% handmade and paited with anilina (natural pigments).
Category
1960s Folk Art Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paper
Early Hardwood Mexican Mask, Man With Moustache and Beard early 20th century
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Early hardwood Mexican mask, representing a man with moustache and beard with curly hair on forehead. Strong, sharp carving with high relief detaisl. Heavy staining and wear inside...
Category
Mid-20th Century Tribal Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Organic Material
Folk Art Pottery Charger - Hand Painted Flowers & Swirls - Mexico - Circa 1980's
Located in Chatham, ON
Mexican folk art terra cotta charger or plate - large size - hand made and featuring hand painted flowers and elaborate border with swirls (all cold painted) - unsigned - Mexico - ci...
Category
Mid-20th Century Folk Art Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Ceramic
1960s Mexican Artist Rodolfo Nieto Abstract Oil Painting Morton Label
By Rodolfo Nieto
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1960s Mexican Artist Rodolfo Nieto Abstract Oil Painting on Board
Retains Morton label
32W x 27.25 H x .25 thick
Original Unrestored Vintage preowned condition.
Please review our ima...
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Paint
19th C. Mexican Retablo "Veronica's Veil", c.1880
Located in San Francisco, CA
About
An original 19th century Mexican folk retablo "Veronica's Veil" or "El Divono Rostro" in Spain . Oil paint on tin.
The Veil of Veronica, known in Italian as the Volto Santo or Holy Face, is a Roman Catholic Relic which, according to legend, bears the likeness of the Face of Jesus that was imprinted on it prior to Jesus' crucifixion. According to Roman Catholicism, Saint Veronica encountered Jesus in Jeruselum on the way to Calvary. When she paused to wipe the sweat (Latin, suda) off his face with her veil, his image was left on the veil.
In the small village of Osa de la Vega in Spain, there lived a couple who led a very pious life. They were Gregorio de la Torre and Isabel Corral. From their father, Juan Montilla, they inherited a picture of the Face of Jesus or the Divino Rostro. A story that is told one day, to the amazement of many who confirmed its veracity, the picture began to perspire with living blood. News of this extraordinary event spread swiftly and widely throughout the land.
CREATOR Unknown.
DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1880.
MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Oil Paint on Tin.
CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use.
DIMENSIONS H 14 in. W 10 in.
HISTORY
Retablos, better known as 'laminas' in Mexico, are small oil paintings on tin, wood and sometimes copper which were used in home altars to venerate the almost infinite number of Catholic saints. The literal translation for 'retablo' is 'behind the altar.' This unique genre of art, deeply rooted in European history, was brought to Mexico with the arrival of the Spanish and then ultimately adopted by New World mestizo natives to become what is known today as the Mexican folk retablo.
The retablo was an art form that flourished in post conquest Mexico and then ultimately, with the introduction of inexpensive mediums such as tin, reached its pinnacle of popularity in the last quarter of the 19th century. With some exceptions, mostly untrained artists from the provinces worked to produce and reproduce these sacred images; some subjects painted more prolifically than others. A typical "retablero" may have reproduced the same image hundreds, if not thousands of times in his or her career.
These oil paintings were sold to devout believers who displayed them in home altars to honor their patron saints. There are virtually hundreds of saints, each invoked to remedy a different situation. "San Ysidro Labrador," the patron saint of farmers, is venerated for good weather...
Category
19th Century Folk Art Antique Mexican Folk Art
Materials
Tin
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