TRADITIONAL HAND-PAINTED SANTOS

This religious folk-art, native to New Mexico, was developed during an intense creative period between 1750 and 1850. These “santos” were painted by lay-penitent brothers (hermanos) to decorate their chapels (moradas). This art was passed on from father to son and continues even so today. While this sacred art-form seems somewhat primitive and naïve, it displays elements of spiritual depth. 

The richness is seen in the purity of expression, the depth of color and the spontaneous use of line and proportion. Only organic materials are used in the traditional method: all-natural Yeso (gesso), hand-mixed vegetable and mineral pigments (no acrylics), and pinon-pine pitch and mineral spirits which permeate the layers as a protective varnish. 

These “santos” are prayerfully painted by a lay-penitent hermit.