Saint James (Santiago)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Painted in New Mexico, this small religious scene, or retablo, was meant for private devotion in a chapel or home. Retablos typically depict saints, angels, or the Virgin Mary. The New Mexican painters who specialized in these subjects were called santeros . To develop their iconographies, santeros looked to a variety of printed materials, including woodcuts, pamphlets, and illustrated Bibles. Saint James, one of the twelve apostles, is shown here riding a horse and brandishing a sword—a reference to his appearance at the mythical Battle of Clavijo, where he was said to have helped a Christian army defeat the Moors.

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