Archangel Saint Raphael (San Raphael)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

The archangel Raphael appears in this santo (image of a holy figure) with his traditional attributes, a pilgrim's staff and a fish, which refer to his role as a guide and healer in the biblical Book of Tobit. Behind him is a celestial rainbow. Ortega was an itinerant artist in northern New Mexico who made traditional santos for churches, convents, and homes at a time when the Catholic Church was promoting mass-produced plaster statues for devotion instead of paintings. The drawn curtains framing Raphael imply that this santo was part of a larger altar retable.

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