Uncanny Artist Ephemera and Objects for Artists and Collectors
  • 1965 Mexican Ex Voto of A Car Accident

    $65.00
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    This is a 1965 Mexican Ex Voto of A Car Accident.  (An ex voto is a folk art devotional painting giving thanks for protection through a specific episode and using iconography derived from traditional Catholic art.)  On the left hand side of the painting, Andres Garcia is praying at the February 1964 auto accident of his brother (Jose M. Garcia T.) to the Virgen de San Juan de los Lagos (Our Lady of Saint John of the Lakes).  The Virgin appears in the upper left hand corner dressed in her traditional long blue robe, surrounded by a golden glow, and accented with silver paint.  He is thanking Her for the miracle of saving his brother's life.  (Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos is the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Mexican and Texan Catholics.  She is said to have performed many miracles, including bringing a dead child back to life.)  The majority of the painting shows a hilly desert landscape with a car which has hit a concrete barrier.  A bleeding man and whiskey bottle lie outside the car, while three people can be seen bleeding inside the car.  The Spanish text, which appears in the upper right hand half of the painting, gives thanks and dedicates this retablo to the Virgin.  The ex voto is brightly painted with a narrow blue-gray border.  It is signed "Cardoso," placed at "Zacatecas, Zac." and dated "Abril de 1965."  This painting measures 10" wide by 7" high and has clipped corners.  The shiny tin back has a bit of rust on one corner.  This 1965 Mexican Ex Voto of A Car Accident is in Better Than Good condition with minor scratches and chips to the paint.