I usually gravitate toward older retablos, but this one, dated 1969, I love as much as any I’ve found, jam packed with marvelous details that make it super singular and, to my sensibilities, just super. The raised hands, palms open, are a gesture of thanks, here to the Virgen del Carmen (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel) for the magnificent prosperity of Rutila Mares Sola’s restaurant business. The simmering pots on the stove with flames below, the blue and red punch bowls and stacks of orange mugs and plates, the matriarch I assume rolling out the dough, and then this fantastic Virgin and Christ child floating just above the scene (with very fabulous faces!)
8" x 6 3/4", painting on tin, good condition, better in person. There is a bit of bending to the tin along the top edge and plenty of rust on the back side but just a little in the background on the front. A hole at top center for hanging from a nail.
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