Votive paintings of Mexico

Votive paintings in Mexico go by several names in Spanish such as “ex voto,” “retablo” or “lámina,” which refer to their purpose, place often found, or material from which they are traditionally made respectively.

The painting of religious images to give thanks for a miracle or favour received in this country is part of a long tradition of such in the world.

The offering of such items has more immediate precedence in both the Mesoamerican and European lines of Mexican culture, but the form that most votive paintings take from the colonial period to the present was brought to Mexico by the Spanish.

The narrative version on metal sheets is now the traditional and representative form of votive paintings, although modern works can be executed on paper or any other medium.

Narrative votive paintings can be found by the thousands in many locations in Mexico although certain shrines and sanctuaries such as that of the Virgin of Guadalupe and in Chalma attract a very large number of these.

Due their proliferation, especially in the 18th and 19th century, many older votive paintings have left the places they were deposited and found their way into public and private collections.

Most votive paintings in Mexico are small, depicting the petitioner, the saint or other religious figure and a description of the favor or miracle received.

Most votive paintings depict a kind of near disaster, such as car accidents and robbery, which the believer survived or recuperation from sickness or injury.

However, the term “ex voto” also applies to any number of other objects left for similar purposes, stamped metal pieces wax figures or other crafted items, often fastened near the image which was petitioned.

Ex voto paintings of the type seen today in Mexico began as artworks commissioned by wealthy patrons as a result of an answered prayer or recovery from illness.

In fact, there is a record of the conquistador Hernán Cortés making an ex-voto to give thanks for being able to walk away from a scorpion bite without becoming ill.[2] As in Europe, the tradition began with wealthy families having depictions of saints painted with the narrative version coming shortly thereafter.

[8] In addition to the availability of tin sheets, another reason for the popularity of votive paintings was the political instability of Mexico from the late 18th century through much of the 19th.

[10] Until the end of the 19th century, it is estimated that thousands of hand-painted votive paintings were produced by workshops, with a number in highly embossed and decorated tin frames.

At the end of the 19th century, votive paintings, especially of the static type, fell out of favor with the arrival of cheaper chromolithographs from France and Germany.

Another artist is Jose Lopez, who began painting when he had a cancerous tumor in one of his legs and prayed to the Virgin of Juquila in Oaxaca to spare his life.

Because these paintings commemorate an action that has already occurred, depiction of the miraculous cure or rescue event is constructed purely from the imagination of the artist.

[8] The narrative written beneath the scene of the painting supplies the synopsis for what is often a two-act play: a grim, even catastrophic event, involving the world of mortals, followed by the divine intervention of the proper saint.

Violent events such as attacks by robbers, police, drunken husbands, fires, earthquakes, storms and mine collapses also appear.

[1] While these are the most common themes, almost any subject is sufficient to justify creating one, from finding a missing child or mule to fixing a leak in a stock pond.

[10] These paintings have artistic, cultural and historic value as they provide insight into the lives of everyday people and the issues they have faced over time.

[3] Past Mexican artists such as Frida Kahlo, Roberto Montenegro, Diego Rivera, Juan O'Gorman and David Alfaro Siqueiros have used elements of these paintings in their own work.

[2] Today, individual artists from diverse cultural backgrounds draw creative inspiration from this popular art form.

[5] One such artist is Francisco Larios Osuna who creates painting in the votive form to document events from his own life as well as the lives of people he knows.