Plate 6: Chapel Altarpiece, Santa Cruz: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" 1935 - 1942

This anonymous altarpiece from New Mexico is one of a portfolio of 'Spanish Colonial Designs' rendered in watercolor and graphite. I love how flat it is; it feels like the artist is figuring out how to represent deep-set religious beliefs and the cultural history of their community. The colors are muted and subdued, but there is a real sense of compositional organization. Each panel depicts a different scene with the various figures rendered in earthy tones. The artist has taken their time to make sure the details are all in place. What was it like for the artist to spend this time, alone perhaps, working to depict their faith? It reminds me of the kind of exchange and conversation that artists have across time. They respond to each other’s work, and they rework it, and in this altarpiece, I see how an artist is using the traditions of painting to make something new.