Bulto of the Virgin of Guadalupe c. 1936

This is E. Boyd’s ‘Bulto of the Virgin of Guadalupe’. We don’t know exactly when it was made, but it shows the artist's lovely, intuitive approach to rendering form. There’s a real sense of care in how Boyd applies the paint, layering each colour to define shapes and create texture. Look at the pink robe, how the paint is both flat and dimensional. It's not blended but built up, and you can see the history of its making, where the artist paused and returned. The orange rays are wonderful, like flames, which surround the figure of the Virgin, and draw the eye upwards toward her calm, knowing face. I think of someone like Bill Traylor, who used colour and form in a similarly bold and direct way, each embracing simplicity, which in turn delivers complexity. Boyd is saying something about seeing, and belief, about how the simplest forms can carry the weight of complex emotions.