Our Lady, Refuge of Sinners, oil paint on tin |
Santa Librata – St. Wilgefortis, oil paint on tin |
St. Francis of Paola, oil paint on tin |
By Voice staff
The Hearst Gallery at St. Mary’s College in Moraga
is featuring a new exhibit on retablos — a form of devotional Baroque
folk art popular in Mexico and New Mexico during the 18th, 19th and early
20th centuries.
Entitled “Pinturas de Fe: the Retablo,” the display is showcasing
nearly 70 retablos. Several ex votos — votive offerings left by
people at church altars in thanksgiving for answered prayers — as
well as a few painted wooden home altars — are also on display.
The show opened Jan. 12 and runs through April 6.
Retablo comes from the word for Baroque wooden altarpieces and screens
and refers to small devotional paintings of saints, archangels, the Virgin
Mary, and the Holy Family. The art originated in the 1720s during the
period of Spanish rule and Catholic evangelization. Colonists and missionaries
used religious images to teach Christian dogmas to the indigenous peoples
of Mexico. Local artists created specific images believed to provide protection,
health or prosperity.
The earliest examples were painted on canvas, copper or wood. Their popularity
and availability increased after the introduction of tin-coated iron in
the late 18th century. The tradition traveled north to New Mexico, where
artists painted on both wood and metal. By the turn of the 20th century,
an abundance of inexpensive religious-themed chromolithographs from the
East Coast and Europe destroyed the market for hand-painted retablos.
They have enjoyed a revival since the 1930’s when interest in Hispanic
cultural forms began emerging. The rise of the Chicano Movement in the
1960’s further boosted their popularity. Today, individual artists
are carrying on the tradition, said Pamela Gasparovich Thomas, a member
of the St. Mary’s campus ministry program and a lecturer in religion
and the arts at the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley.
Some of them have painted religious images as street murals and on low-rider
cars. Enlarged photos of some of this contemporary art are included in
the retablo exhibit.
The retablo works are on loan from several private and museum collections,
including the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art and International Folk Art
in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Exhibition hours at the Hearst Gallery are from 11 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
Wednesdays through Sundays. A donation of $3 is requested of adults. Children
12 and under free. Group tours can be arranged by calling (925) 631-4379.
Additional information about the exhibit can be found at: http://gallery.stmarys-ca.edu.
St. Raphael the Arcangel, oil paint on tin |
St. Louis, King of France, oil paint on tin |
Lecture to focus on Our Lady of Guadalupe retablos
By Voice staff
In conjunction with the exhibit, “Pinturas de Fe,” Pamela
Gasparovich Thomas, a member of the St. Mary’s campus ministry program
and a lecturer in religion and the arts at the Dominican School of Philosophy
and Theology in Berkeley, will offer a special presentation on “Images
of Mary — Sacred, Secular and Stylized,” on Friday, Feb. 29,
from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Soda Activity Center across from the Hearst Gallery
on the St. Mary campus.
Thomas, a native of New Mexico, specializes in the study of images of
Mary throughout time from art, Scripture, apocryphal writings and regional
customs. She has organized several exhibitions and symposia on the topic.
At her Feb. 29 lecture, Thomas will focus specifically upon images of
Our Lady of Guadalupe as reflected in the retablo tradition.
“The original painting was not created by human hands, but the image
has moved out of the cathedral into the secular world, into all walks
of life,” said Thomas.
A reception from 6 to 7 p.m. will follow her presentation. The event is
free to members of the Hearst Art Gallery and children 12 and under. A
$5 general admission includes the exhibition, presentation, and reception.
Juan Diego and the tilma, oil paint on tin |
Our Lady of Guadalupe, oil paint on tin |
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