Retablos are devotional paintings depicting saints or religious figures, while ex votos depict miraculous events credited to holy figures. Both art forms originated in Catholic Mexico and New Mexico, brought by Spanish missionaries. They are full of religious and cultural symbolism that can be interpreted from the images. Ms. Meier will show examples of retablos and an ex voto in oil paint on tin, wood, and other materials depicting figures like Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Francis of Assisi, and others, and discuss analyzing the symbolic meaning within them.

1. Symbolism & the Retablo
Ms. Meier

2. Retablos & Ex Votos
• A retablo is a devotional painting that depicts
a saint or religious figure
• An ex votois a Mexican devotional painting
depicting a miraculous event credited to a
holy figure
• Both are associated with the Catholic religion,
brought to Mexico by the Spanish in the late
1400’s and carried into New Mexico by
missionaries

3. Symbolism
• A symbol is a sign or image that represents an
idea or concept.
• Retablos are full of religious and cultural
symbolism, and can be “read” with meaning.
• Try to find symbols in the retablo examples
that I show you.
• Afterward, we will look at a wooden example
of a retablo done by a folk artist in Taos. What
do you notice?

4. Our Lady of Guadalupe, oil paint on tin

5. St. Francis of Assisi, oil paint on wood

6. “La Conquistadora in Colcha”

7. Santa Elena de la
CrusEx Voto

8. Nuestra Senora del Patrocinio
de Zacatecas Ex Voto