This exhibit was particularly interesting to experience and learn about because I had previously never even heard of a retablo, and went in without a clue as to what I was about to engage in. My first stop was to read the history of the retable; it was intriguing to learn that they were made for the purpose of prayer and worship to the Saint of their necessity. I have heard of people praying to temples, statues, and various religious deities, but the idea of painting a picture that depicts all the needs of a prayer was new to me. I also found it note worthy to discover that the artists would repaint, or add to the painting if more is needed for the desired prayer.
The retablo illustrating Don Miguel Hidalgo was out of place to me at first because he isn't considered a "saint" officially; yes he was a priest, but not the kind of priest I typically think of, being that he had two daughters out of wedlock. As I contemplated on the significance of his retablo I came up with several possible conclusions. My first speculation is that the artist who painted him must have made it to pray for him, and his safety, but then I realized that it was produced in 1988, so this couldn't have been possible, being that Father Hidalgo was already deceased. My next interpretation was that the artist made this for the purpose of praying for some type of liberation in his/her life because Hidalgo is renowned throughout Mexico as the "Father of Independence/Liberation". I can't be sure, but if I had to guess this would be my best conclusion. The painting has several means of symbolism within it, such as the crooked painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which according to the side note is meant to convey his holiness of fight. I was curious as to why the picture would be crooked though, and I couldn't help but consider the crookedness of his priesthood through his sins of sex, although I doubt that's right.
What does New Mexico Architectural Style mean? The early settlers in New Mexico came from Mexico and Spain in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Don Juan de Onate colonized the area above Espanola in 1598, one hundred eight years after Columbus came to the Americas. The early settle...
