This antique (circa 1840) retablo features a painting of the saint Camilo de Lelis ministering last rites to a dying man as the mans guardian angel looks on. A devil, thwarted of his attempt to claim the man’s soul, flees out the window; as he does so, he turns around and sticks out his tongue at Camilo. Camilo is called the red cross saint because of the design on his habit. He founded the ministers of the sick, that care for the suffering. He died 1614.

Retablos are a Mexican folk art based in earlier European traditions of saint veneration. They are generally created to thank a saint whom the petitioner has suplicated for help or blessings. The retablo would be placed on an altar and used again when the petitioner was in need. They were also given as gifts.

Retablos are important to Mexican folk religion because they are a physical representation of holy images such as Christ, the Virgin Mother, or one of the many thousands of saints. They come from the need to interact on a personal level with the divine. Retablos are evidentiary support for communication between the divine and humans. They are objects of personal devotion.

Before the Mexican revolution in 1821, the production of religious items and imagery was tightly controlled by the church and religious guilds. After the revolution, several things happened to loosen the strictures imposed by the church. The guilds were no longer dominant and folk art began to flourish. Also, Mexico began trading with countries other than Spain. Large amounts of tin were imported from both the US and England. This provided a cheap material for local artists to paint on; thus Retablos were born. The art of painted Retablos continued until 1900 or so. Ordinary people were able to afford religious images for their home altars. Thousands of Retablos were made in their heyday, mostly in Guadalajara, Zacatecas and Guanajuato.

This Retablo is from the 1840’s and is painted with oil on tin. It is framed with a small modest tin frame painted to look like wood grain and measures 15.5” X 11.5” X 1”