Plate 36: Saint Roch: From Portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" 1935 - 1942

Curator: So, what leaps out at you immediately about this watercolor from the portfolio "Spanish Colonial Designs of New Mexico" painted between 1935 and 1942? Editor: A peculiar blend of devotion and discomfort, perhaps? There's something oddly vulnerable in the saint's exposed leg juxtaposed with his solemn gesture. I keep coming back to that, honestly. Curator: Ah yes, the vulnerability… well, the image portrays Saint Roch, a pilgrim saint often depicted displaying a plague sore on his leg. But, if we zoom out from the story for a moment, what are you making of this watercolor illustration technically? Editor: The rendering looks quite simplified, almost deliberately naive, if you will. The visible brushstrokes give it a feeling of being quickly done or a copy of a copy, focusing on easily transported materials like watercolors perhaps for documentation work. How does the image making intersect with its purpose? Curator: Interesting point! It captures something quite profound—the folk art spirit translated onto paper with utmost clarity and love. It feels like the artist wanted us to focus not so much on immaculate perfection but more on faithful conveyance, that spirit of tradition… perhaps of place, you know? Editor: Well, the artist here, recorded as simply Anonymous, makes intriguing choices about documentation; labor certainly went into this body of work that is part painting, part drawing, part record. How was the watercolor distributed or exhibited? The answer might point us back toward why Saint Roch’s affliction is highlighted in this moment. Curator: Unknown, honestly! And perhaps unknowable. It hangs between worlds. So fragile, but it tells such stories about belief and hardship, doesn't it? What is it we value—the precious object or the enduring idea? Editor: Well said. To contemplate process is to enter the mystery of the colonial encounter in ways that invite new levels of reflection. Curator: Beautiful… indeed, beautiful. Thank you.