santeros

Lecture Four
Fall 2014
Nuestra Señora de Los Dolores,
Antonio Molleno follower, 1800-40
Originally named the Chili Pepper santero
Regis collection, Ru52
Feast day: Friday before Palm Sunday
and September 16
• Mary standing with her hands folded with a
sword or seven swords piercing her heart.
• She is wearing a red gown a cowl and
sometimes wearing a crown.
• A single sword of sorrow caused by crucifixion
of her son Jesus and the sword pierces her
heart
• Compassion for others in sorrow; help with
children, help in childbirth.
• Father Steele created the tin resplandor (halo)
and sword, but the holes where already there.
Nuestra Señora del Rosario
Our Lady of the Rosary
composite bulto
José Aragón/José Benito Ortega,
1820-1907
Regis Collection, RU-JM 199
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Feast day October 2
The Virgin Mary depicted in a bell-shaped gown holding
the Christ Child in one arm and a rosary in her other hand.
She is often represented crowned. This representation of
the Virgin is often prayed to in times of death, when a
rosary is customarily recited soon after the deceased has
passed away.
Patronage: Acceptance of death in the family (saying the
rosary is a central part of velorios [wakes] for the dead
where the crucifix of the rosary is the key to the gates of
heaven); for peace, for help in danger and protection
from accidents.
Ortega has reworked Aragon’s bulto, the little 1880’s-style
high top “ pegged shoes and the base are Ortega’s
contribution.
Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes
Nuestra Señora de San Juan de los Lagos
1820-40
Antonio Mollen
Regis Collection RU 82
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Feast day February 2
Identified by her jeweled crown, hop skirt
and a tall candle on each side.
In 1542, a Spanish priest, Father Miguel de
Bologna, brought an image of the Virgin of
the Immaculate Conception to the town of
San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico.
Years later—in 1623—the legend recounts
that the daughter of Tarascan Indian
parents fell gravely ill, and her death was
imminent.
However, after the parents earnestly
prayed to the Virgin, their daughter was
saved.
Since then it has become a major
pilgrimage site that draws hundreds of
thousands annually.
El Camino Real
Isolation
• Physical
Seat of Government
Commerce and Good
services
• Cultural
Language
Customs and ritual
• Spirituality
Churches
Priests/sacraments
The distance between Santa Fe, and Mexico city is a little over 1200 miles and took over 4 months
to travel. The distance between Santa Fe and Chihuahua is about 550 miles
The distance between Santa Fe and Missouri is a little over 900 miles and took 2 to 3 months to travel
Age of enlightenment
 This PERIOD of CHANGE is characterized by
three REVOLUTIONS:
the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (circa 1760s)
 “The Industrial Revolution brought about the
most significant shift in the way people lived
since the Neolithic agricultural revolution ten
thousand years earlier.”
 Invention of the camera
 Changed the trajectory/roll of art and the artist
Day of God
Paul Gauguin
Oil on Canvas, 26” x 36”
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Was critical of materialism
of industrial society.
His transformation from a
stockbroker to a full-time
painter and artist came after
the financial crash of 1882.
At the age of 35 Tired of
living in a western society he
left his pregnant wife and 3
children
Moved to Tahiti in search of
a dream of earthly paradise
And away from the disease
of civilization.
He went to live and paint in
a remote village
Peter Paul Rubens
Three Graces
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Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Les Demoiselles D 'Avignon
(1907)
The Young Ladies of Avignon
•Cubist aim of representing the
world as seen from a number
of different viewpoints.
• Cubist wanted to convey a
feeling of being able to move
around within the painting.
Picasso – Portrait of Ambroise Vollard
Veronica’s Veil
Pedro Antonio Fresquis
Denver Art Museum
• Like the cubist this
work is seen from a
number of different
viewpoints.
(Butterfly Maiden) Kachina
Hopi, painted wood
ca. 1920
19" x 9 1/2" x 4 1/2"
• The Santeros used the same materials to
make their santos that the Pueblos used
to make their kachinas and tablitas.
• Kachina Dolls: Kachina dolls are carved
to look like friendly spirits and were used
by Hopi, Zuni, and Pueblo Indians.
• They are given to children to protect
them from evil spirits.
Tablitas (headdress) used for dance ceremonies
Crucifix
Jose Benito Ortega
Denver Art Museum
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Crucifijo & Angelito, 1880-1907
José Benito Ortega
Regis collection RU 97 & 203
Many of the Santeros did come from a
Native American culture or mestizaje of
Spanish and Native American.
Santos do come from a culture different
European/American mainstream
Blackfeet Par fleche,
Rawhide, pigment, 1885, 21” x 14”
•A pack or bag (envelope) that was used for
carrying personal goods in nomadic Native
American societies.
•Women created these objects By stretching
rawhide in the sun to dry
•Women then paint pigments of earth powders
Painted with repetition of geometric shapes
(triangles) and earth colors.
New Mexico Santeros
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About a dozen artists, some known by name, others by their style or location of
particular works.
These anonymous artists are identified and named based on their preferred saints,
their unique styles, or the places where they practiced their art
Why is difficult to distinguish the art of one santero from another?
They all created the same or similar subjects.
They all used the same materials. (pine boards, cottonwood roots, pigments)
They copied each other or where an apprentice of one another
They had the same sources for inspiration which were the imported paintings,
engravings that they saw in prints and prayer books
They incorporated the same iconography to symbolically portray sacred subjects
that guaranteed the validity and power of an image
Things to look for to identify santeros:
Use of line (roundness or angularity)
Use of shape (geometric or organic)
Proportion (size of head to body)
Direction of head (front view or ¾ profile)
Facial features
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Early Santeros/Pre- Golden age 1750-1790
Captain Bernardo Miera y Pacheco
Fray Andrés García
Spanish born
Mexican born
Transition and the Golden Age, 1796-1860
Laguna Santero -1796 -1808, Stylistic Bridge
Antonio Molleno –follower of Laguna, 1800 -1845
Quill Pen Santero- follower of Antonio Molleno, 1830 -1850
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Pedro Antonio Fresquis – first native born santero , 1790 -1830
also known as the Truchas master and the calligraophic santero
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José Aragón- 1820 1835
Arroyo Hondo Santero – follower of Jose Aragón, 1820’s -1830’s
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José Rafael Aragón – 1820 -1860
Santo Niño Santero – follower of José Rafael Aragón, 1830 -1860
Serving the Brotherhood (Penitente Santeros), 1860-1907
José Benito Ortega- 1858 1941, also known as the Mora santero and or flat santero
José de Gracia Gonzales – 1835 -1901, born in Chihuahua
Juan Ramón Velásquez- 1830 1902
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Anonymous
Attributed to Franciscan F
Crucifixion with Mourning Figures
of Mary and John
18th century
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A number of artists (Franciscans) who
were working in New Mexico executed
images on tanned buffalo, elk, and
deer hides.
The Franciscans recreated the images
they needed to teach and inspire their
followers.
Hide is a poor support to paint on.
Not many hide painting have survived
The mourning figures of Mary and
John the disciple at the foot of the
cross are posed with prayerful or
wringing hands that identifies them.
The symbolic theme of angels catching
Christ’s blood in a chalice first
appeared in the fourteenth century.
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San Rafael Arcángel
Saint Raphael the Archangel
Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco
1780
• Capitan Bernardo Miera y Pacheco is
among the first "true" santeros, those
artists active from ca. 1750-1790
• He laid a foundation and provided primary
prototypes for the New Mexican-born
artists who would follow.
• Captain Bernardo Miera y Pacheco was a
cartographer by trade and lived in New
Mexico from 1756 until his death in 1785.
• He used oils as well as tempera (water
color) to paint on canvas, bultos and
retablos and sold his work to native
converts.
• He work resembles mainstream
Renaissance and Baroque art.
Stone altar screen now at the Church of Cristo Rey,
Santa Fe, NM, 1761, Capitán Bernardo Miera y
Pacheco, commissioned by Governor Francisco
Antonio Marín del Valle and his wife María Ignacia
Martínez de Ugarte
• Originally at the chapel of Our Lady of
Light or La Castrense, a Military chapel
on the plaza
• It was carved in low relief with local
stone, gessoed and painted
• It was the first instance of estípite
column.
• The idea of columns separating panels
holding separate saints was copied by
later santeros.
• This altar screen was the model that the
other santero used
Santo Hierarchy
• The first dated work by a santero living
in New Mexico,
Saint Anthony of Padua
San Antonio de Padua
Fray Andres Garcia
1748-78
Regis Collection RU 85
Feast day: June 13
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Fray Andres Garcia served in New Mexico
from 1747 to 1779, where he renovated
several churches and provided them with
images, altars, pulpits and confessionals.
Like Miera y Pacheco worked in the
prevailing styles of the day.
San Jose church,
Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico
San Jose church,
Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico
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Unknown by name, this santero is
identified from a large altar screen at the
mission church at the Pueblo of Laguna.
He is credited with making more largescale Colonial art than any other santero.
The significance of the Laguna Santero is
his position as a stylistic “bridge” between
the eighteenth-century imitation of
European styles and the new regional
style of New Mexico.
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estípite column
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This altar has been cleaned and repainted
and has lost most of its original painting
San José
Laguna Santero
A Century of Retablos
The Janis and Dennis Collection of New
Mexico Santos, pg 71
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The rich colors found in Mexican baroque
paintings of red, blue, various shades of
grey, black, with certain areas appearing as
pinkish grey.
The faces have downcast eyes and he uses
white paint to decorate and highlight
clothing
The upper eyelid extends in a straight flat
line with the thick lower eyelid rounded
The pupils of the eyes are surrounded by
an envelope of white that give depth
Three-quarter length portraits are also
stylistic characteristics
Long nose that is often modeled by
shading, giving the effect of depth
He painted large scale hands and The
hands have elegant, long tapered fingers
and one thumb is usually rendered with a
crooked shape
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Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Antonio Molleno
Kingdom of the Saints pg 99
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Follower of Laguna santero
Work for almost 50 years
Worked in three distinct styles
His early works (approximately 18151820) closely resemble those of the
Laguna santero
• During his 1st period
Aspects of realism are exhibited as are the
use of dark and colored backgrounds,
elegantly decorated garments, and a
wide range of colors.
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San Geronimo
Saint Jerome
Antonio Molleno/Chili Pepper santero
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This period is characterized by elongated
simplified figures with the use of
decorative floral motifs as space fillers in
the corners of the retablos, resembling
acanthus leaves found on early
engravings
A three-quarter perspective with a black
line that forms the right side of the face.
Like modern cartooning
Minimal use of color
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Our Lady of the Suburb of Querétaro, 1830-50
Nuestra Señora del Pueblito de Querétaro
Quill Pen Santero
Regis Collection RU 210
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Molleno disciple
His work is characterized by sharp delicate lines that appear
to have been made with a quill pen or sharp instrument
His use of what appear to be Pueblo Indian designs has led
some scholars to suggest that he was of American Indian
heritage.
His production was limited, and his retablos are among the
rarest in New Mexico.
Saint Raymond Nonnatus
San Ramón Nonato
Quill Pen Santero (1820-1850s)
wood, gesso, tempera, and varnish
ca. 1850
• Acoma pottery
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Cristo Crucificado : Crucifixion
Pedro Antonio Fresquís
late 18th - early 19th century
The Spanish Colonial Arts Society
Museum,
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First native born santero , 1790 1830
Aka: Truchas master and calligraphic
santero
His early work has some Baroque
traits:
Dark background with dramatic
lighting
Sgraffito-scraping away lines in moist
paint to expose the different colored
surface beneath.
He deals with background with
stylized floating flowers or stylized
trees that stand on top of tiling
Crucifix have a well develop loin
cloths with large bows
Large head in proportion to their
bodies
San Antonio de Padua
Pedro Antonio Fresquis
A Century of Retablos
The Janis and Dennis Collection of
New Mexico Santos, pg 41
• Sometimes uses single halos for more
than one figure
• He worked with back ground using
stylized floating flowers or stylized trees
that stand on top of tiling
• He has a penmanship-like line in his
pieces
• Most figures present themselves in
frontal view
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Flight into Egypt
Pedro Antonio Fresquis
late 18th or early 19th century
• His dark background disappears in his later
work
• Never signed his work except a few initials on
horses on a few panels
• Very few narrative paintings in colonial New
Mexico
• Sketchy other worldly plants and tree
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San Pedro
Saint Peter
José Aragón
Pg 131
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He could read and write and signed his
work.
A prolific artist who made hundreds of
retablos and bultos, Aragón signed
many of his works, unlike most
santeros of his era.
He was well educated a maybe from
Spain or Mexico.
Greater tendency to work from
engravings
Cross-hatching
In general, José Aragón’s style is
characterized by delicate features,
almond shaped eyes, plump cheeks
and well-proportioned figures.
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Saint Ignatius Loyola, 1820-65
San Ignacio de Loyola,
José Rafael Aragón,
1820 -65
Regis collection RU 144
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José Rafael Aragón, considered the
greatest and most prolific New
Mexican Santero.
He was arguably the finest and most
talented santero of his era.
He was active for more than forty
years, from 1820 to 1862
Shared characteristics with Jose
Aragon but worked later who may or
may not of been related.
He created most of the altar screens
for the communities along the High
Road to Taos.
It is probable that he worked with
family members and other artists, as
in a taller or informal guild.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Nuestra Señora Guadalupe
José Rafael Aragón
New Kingdom of the Saints pg 227
• His sculptural figures are noted for
his creative decorative motifs, color
contrasts, elongated and graceful
proportions, delicate features and a
distinctive bump on the nose.
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Santo Niño de Praga, 1830-40
(Holy Child of Prague)
Santo Niño Santero
Regis Collection RU 404
Feast day: June 13
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A child dressed in a full robe, usually red,
almost always wearing a crown, and holding a
globe with a cross on top.
He is a celebration of the childhood and
kingship of Jesus.
Help with those who are lost and held captive
Santo Niño Santero frequent depictions of
the Christ Child:
Santo Niño de Praga
Santo Niño de Atocha
Santo Niño Perdido
Saint Joseph
Jose Benito Ortega
aka: flat santero and the Mora santero
Denver Art Museum
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José Benito Ortega, the last of the late 19th-century
santeros, traveled throughout northern New Mexico and
southern Colorado
He making santos for small chapels, village homes, and
Moradas for Penitentes (members of a religious
brotherhood) from the 1870s to the early 1900s.
His figures were often created from scrap mill board and
widely available calico rags, upon which he applied
prepared gesso.
Since Ortega used milled work, most of his work has a
flat appearance but the head, hand and feet are carve
and pegged
Faces are very expressive
Funny looking feet and hand
Saint Joseph
San José Patriarca
José Benito Ortega (1858-1941)
wood, gesso, and polychrome
ca. 1880
• Retablos become more provincial or
to revert to the near primitive
• His retablos push so far in the
direction of stylized similar to Matisse
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