Saint John of Nepomuk (San Juan Nepomuceno)

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 John of Nepomuk is shown here with three of his traditional attributes: a martyr's palm branch, a cross, and a clerical hat known as a biretta.

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