Bulto (Virgin) c. 1939

Majel G. Claflin made this watercolour painting, Bulto (Virgin), at an unknown date. It's amazing how she captures the texture of the original sculpture. The painting has this incredible balance between decay and reverence, doesn't it? Look at the way the paint is applied so thinly in some areas, almost transparent, and then built up in others to mimic the chipping paint and worn surface of the bulto. See how the dark cloak contrasts with the reddish-brown underneath? It’s as if the painting itself is aging before our eyes, mirroring the passage of time and the history embedded in the object it represents. Claflin's got a real eye for detail but also a sensitivity to the emotional resonance of her subject. You could almost put her in conversation with someone like Marsden Hartley, who found similar spiritual depths in simple, everyday forms. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is always a conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that evolves across time and through different hands.