Santo (Nuestra-Sonora di la Luze) 1939

Carl O'Bergh made this Santo, or image of a saint, on what looks like found wood. The artist's hand seems so present! I can almost see him making it. It’s so immediate, you know? The colours are simple, earthy. I see browns, reds, greens, and yellows all blending to create this image of Nuestra-Sonora di la Luze. You can almost feel the artist figuring it out as he goes, testing and layering until the figure emerges. There’s a real tenderness in the way he handles the paint, like he’s in conversation with the wood itself. I wonder if O'Bergh thought about the folk tradition of devotional art, and how these raw, simple images can be so powerful. This piece reminds me that painting is an ongoing exchange across time. One artwork inspires the next! The beauty is in that ambiguity and uncertainty.