San Ramon Nonato

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Painted in New Mexico, this small religious scene is known as a retablo. 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. The Spanish Saint Raymond Nonnatus was born by Caesarean section after the death of his mother (Nonnatus means "not born" in Latin). As such, he became the patron saint of childbirth, midwives, children, and pregnant women. He is often depicted with a monstrance (a vessel to display the consecrated host or relics), which he holds in his right hand.

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