New World, Mexico, Spanish Colonial Style, ca. 19th century CE. A hand-carved wooden santo depicting Saint Isidore the Farmer (San Isidro Labrador). He stands on a flat platform with a green base beside two yoked oxen, one hand reaching down to touch his animals, the other extended forward towards the viewer. Isidro wears a red and blue tunic and heavy boots; he has long hair and a mustache, with a painted, wide-eyed face. The bodies of the oxen are made of plaster over a wooden base and stand on four spindly legs, each with two narrow horns rising from their heads. San Isidro (ca. 1070 to 1130) was a Spanish farmworker who became the patron saint of farmers, known for his love of animals and the poor. He was widely venerated throughout the colonial Spanish Empire and in Mexico the city of San Ysidro is named for him. Size: 6.75" W x 11" H (17.1 cm x 27.9 cm)
Santos played an important role in bringing the Catholic Church to the New World with the Spanish colonists. These religious figures were hand-carved and often furnished with crowns, jewels, and other accessories, usually funded by religious devotees, and were used as icons to explain the major figures - Mary, Christ, and the saints - to new, indigenous converts. Likewise, they served as a connection to the Old World for Spanish colonists far from home. They became a folk art tradition in the Spanish New World, from modern day Guatemala to as far north as New Mexico and Colorado. Many of them were lovingly cared for over the years, with repairs and paint added as they aged, and played an active part for a long time in the religious life of their communities.
Provenance: ex Kurquhill's Gallery, El Paso, Texas, USA; ex private El Paso, Texas, USA collection, acquired early to mid 1970s
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#127723
Condition
Wear / loss to paint and overpainting. Losses to the wood, including the tips of two of the horns; one hand of the saint has been reattached.