Exvoto Mexican Folk Art Painting - Mermaid, Man and Virgin in the Sea

9" x 12"

A vibrant exvoto folk art painting by Christopher Rodriguez Contreras. A contemporary artist that tells a tale of gratitude. Contreras offers a window into the everyday life of the common people of Mexico through tales once told. Acrylic on tin. Signed "CR 24" bottom right. "Sirena" on verso. Some minor scratches to painting. Unframed.

Translation: "Casimo Acosta pays homage with this "milagrito" giving thanks that you saved me from drowning ,very dead, by a beautiful mermaid that wanted to have baby mermaids with me but I swam very hard. Oaxaca May 7,1950."

The term exvoto comes from the Latin referring to a vow or promise. It is an offering made to a divinity to give thanks for the assistance. In Europe, this tradition started in 15th-century Italy. During Spanish rule, Mexicans adopted a creative way to thank the saints, the Virgin Mary, or holy figures for their help with miracles or the supernatural. The  ingenious exvotos are often moving and sometimes express humor through gratitude. The tradition started in the upper classes, by the 18th century, it reached the rest of the population where it adopted a form of paintings on wood or metal sheets. 

Cuidad de Mexico

Contemporary