Retablo santo, oil painting on tin of San Ramón Nonato, in back
of a tin nicho
Mexico
late 19th century
ca. 5" x 7" x 1" deep
$320.00
#Lret65
Condition good. Some paint has worn away. There
is some rusting on the tinplate.
Full picture with hanging wire;
Side view of retablo and nicho;
Detail of San Ramón with monstrance;
Deatil of bottom of San Ramón's robe and table
The painting shows St. Ramón Nonato with his typical attributes: in his right hand, a monstrance (alluding to his receiving communion from an angel at the time of his death); in his left hand, a palm with three crowns surrounding it (referring to chastity, eloquence, and martyrdom-although he was not actually a martyr); and on his mouth, a padlock (which a Muslim governor had put on his mouth to prevent him from preaching to his citizens). He wears the robe of a cardinal of the Mercederian Order. The painting also includes a table and a curtain to the (viewer's) left of the saint. The retablo is set in a tin frame which may once have contained a glass door. A wire for hanging is attached to the top of the tin nicho.
