“Retablos and Ex-votos: Personal and Public Religiosity” by Gloria Fraser Giffords

Retablo from Gloria Fraser Giffords collection courtesy of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona.

This presentation, given by Gloria Fraser Giffords, will be held at the Arizona State Museum (ASM), 1013 E University Blvd, University of Arizona, Tucson on Thursday, April 12, 2016 at 3:00 pm (free with museum admission). Conservator and art historian Gloria Fraser Giffords, guest curator of ASM’s “Intimacy of Faith” exhibit, will discuss the history, use, and artistry of retablos and ex-votos in Mexico. Beginning in the nineteenth century, testimonies of faith and private devotion in Mexico took the form of oil paintings on small pieces of tin plate that became public displays of efficacy of a particular saint’s protection. In many ways, the freshness and honesty of these retablos and ex-votos convey an intimate vitality that distinguishes itself from the otherwise formal academic style imported from Europe that permeated nineteenth-century Mexican art. The majority of retablos featured in the exhibit are from the Giffords family collection. Refreshments served.  This program is presented in conjunction with the “Intimacy of Faith” exhibit that runs through the end of May 2016. This is not an Old Pueblo Archaeology Center event. For more information contact Darlene Lizarraga with ASM at dfl@email.arizona.edu.