Mexican Ex-Voto Retablo Painting, Dated 1960, Harvest Prayer to the Holy Cross

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Mexican Ex-Voto Retablo Painting, Dated 1960, Harvest Prayer to the Holy Cross

A poignant and finely composed Mexican ex-voto retablo … Read more Mexican Ex-Voto Retablo Painting, Dated 1960, Harvest Prayer to the Holy Cross

A poignant and finely composed Mexican ex-voto retablo painting on tin (lámina), dated March 24, 1960, depicting a kneeling campesino offering thanks to the Santísima Cruz (Holy Cross) for a successful harvest after repeated seasons of loss.

The scene is rendered with direct, unpretentious clarity: a solitary farmer kneels in prayer, hat removed, tools at hand, before a sparse rural landscape punctuated by gourds and maize—the fruits of answered supplication. At upper left, a cross inscribed “INRI” emerges from clouds, draped in cloth, signifying divine presence and intervention. A bare tree and distant hillside underscore the hardship endured, while a loyal dog stands witness, grounding the moment in lived rural reality.

The accompanying hand-lettered inscription expresses gratitude for a long-awaited yield of corn and beans after many failed growing cycles (“temporales”), placing the work firmly within the deeply personal and narrative tradition of Mexican devotional painting.

Executed in oil on tin with a restrained, earthy palette and confident line, this piece exemplifies the enduring power of mid-20th-century ex-votos—objects created not for decoration, but as acts of faith, survival, and testimony.

Collectors of Latin American folk art, as well as designers who appreciate their quiet, symbolic modernity, increasingly seek dated examples with clear, legible inscriptions and balanced compositions like this.

Dimensions
10.25 in. W x 8 in. H

Inscribed:
“Doy gracias a la Santísima Cruz de Jesús por una buena cosecha.
A ella le pedí que este año sí se diera mi maicito y mi frijol.
porque ya tenía muchos temporales sin que se diera nada.”

24 / Marzo / 60

English Translation

“I give thanks to the Most Holy Cross of Jesus for a good harvest.
I asked it that this year my corn and my beans would finally grow.
because I had already had many seasons without anything yielding.”

24, March, 1960 See less