Retablo Ex-Voto

Source: Art and Faith in Mexico/The 19th Century Retablo Tradition. UNM Press/2000

This term is used in reference to paintings on tin used as votive offerings. Retablos were part of home altars, whereas the ex-votos were placed in pilgrimage churches. The word ex-voto is derived from the Latin “the promise of,” or “the miracle of.” It refers to the payment of a vow, made in a moment of vicissitude, by means of offering to the divine figure of the intercessor a painting or various other objects related to the grace received. Offering objects to specific divinities has taken place since prehistoric times, but it was during the Holy Roman Empire that this practice became established and accepted among Christians when the initials V.F.G.A (votum fecit gratiam accepit, Latin for “made a vow and received a grace”) were inscribed on the offerings. This practice of including those initials on the votive tablets became a tradition in Italy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century spreading form there to the Iberian peninsula and then to the New World.

Retablos

Source: Art and Faith in Mexico/The 19th Century Retablo Tradition. UNM Press/2000

Depending upon the region of origin, sacred images on tin, which replaced more expensive images painted on imported linen and copper, are known as retablos, laminas, imágenes pintadas, or santos. The Spanish word retablo was derived from the Latin term retro tabula for “behind the altar” (retro for back and tabula for board, tablet; the Latin tabulum means table). It was originally used to designate elaborate wood screens placed behind the main altar displaying sculptures and/or paintings of the main patron saints and other images of devotion. However, in nineteenth-century Mexico, sacred images painted on tin and displayed as an integral part of home altars wee also referred to as retablos. If a saint was depicted, it was then called retablo santo.

Home Altar

Home altars achieved their greatest importance during nineteenth-century Mexican political turmoil. New legislation that sought to separate Church and State reinforced the privatization and significance of home altars and paved the way for an increasingly private form of devotion. In moments of distress, the faithful gathered around the altar praying for divine intercession, for miracles, and for blessings. On home altars, the retablo santos were used for private piety; they worked as powerful friends and protectors of their households and were usually located in the main living areas or in the bedrooms. The main objects in a home altar are retablos, flowers, novenas, images, and prayer cards arranged in deliberate and highly personal way. »

Return to top