Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a title given to the Virgin Mary as the patron of the Carmelite order. In this role, she is usually depicted in a brown habit, holding the Christ Child. Here the Virgin and Christ each hold a scapular, a garment worn by the Carmelite order, around their shoulders. 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.

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