RETABLOS

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RETABLOS
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Vocabulary

• Votive
• Pilgrim
• Miracle
• Santos
• Icon
• Ex-votive
• Supplication
• Penitent
• Milagros

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Santos
Saint JosephFeast day March 19 Patron of the
Universal Church, carpenters, cabinet builders,
doubters, happy death, homeless, and, in Mexico,
he was a model of Franciscan poverty, patron of
travelers, Militant Church and of the
evangelization of the Americas model husband,
benevolent father and safe refuge in times of
spiritual and physical danger. Joseph, the
husband of Virgin Mary and the foster-father of
Jesus, was a carpenter, descended from King
Davids family. Among his many attributes are the
different instruments of his profession as a
carpenter, a lily for purity and a budded staff
for his selection as the future husband of Virgin
Mary. St. Joseph is depicted holding the Christ
Child in his arms while standing against a
neutral background or surrounded by curtains.
Christ the Child is often dressed in red, or
represented naked, holding a small cross in one
hand symbolizing his destiny. St. Joseph, with or
without a crown upon his head, is usually dressed
in a green gown with a yellow cape over his
shoulders.

• Faithful reproductions of European icons
• Allowed little room for creativity and innovation
• Rigid stylistic and iconographic convention

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Ex-Votives

• Depict a range of situations from daily life
• Encouraged novelty and personal expression
• Uses flexible artistic format

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Mexican Ex-Votives

• Show a holy image often suspended in cloud at one
  side of the composition
• Pictures show a threatening event
• Writing at the bottom that explains what happened

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Vocabulary for Design

• Contrasting hues
• Scale
• Proportion
• Awkward perspective
• Juxtaposition
• Motif
• Collage
• Surrealistic

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives
1. Used bold bright colors to stress the
emotional effect of the scene
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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives

• 2. Created drama by manipulating the space
• Ignore scale and proportion

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votive Artists

• Include sharp angles
• Show awkward perspective

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives

• Juxtaposition of tiny human figures and larger
  than life holy images
• Surrealistic placement of figures, props, and
  background

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives

• 3. Time is distorted by showing action that
  occurs out of the order of before, during and
  after

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives

• 4. Theater motifs such as stages and curtains are
  used to define the picture frame

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Design Qualities ofMexican Ex-Votives
5. Increasingly collages of photographs and
copies of papers have been added to improve the
story
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Assignment

• Think of an incident that happened in your life
  and how someone helped you during that time
• Create a retablo style painting that shows what
  happened
• Write a paragraph that explains the situation and
  why you are thankful

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Assessment

• Design
• Are the Principles of Design used successfully to
  enhance the art work?
• Creativity
• Is the art work unique?
• Craftsmanship
• Is the painting painted with care?
• Is the writing written neatly and does it display
  good grammar and spelling?