San Francisco de Asís 1956 Mexican Folk Art Ex-Voto Retablo on Tin

A hand-painted ex-voto retablo on tin, dated 1956 and inscribed from Silao, Guanajuato, offering thanks to San Francisco de Asís for a great favor granted. The composition follows the classic Mexican retablo formula: the petitioner kneels at lower left, draped in a deep blue mantle over a pale rose gown, while the saint appears within a luminous oval of yellow, pink, and brown clouds, holding a small wooden cross and wearing the brown Franciscan habit with knotted white cord cincture. The hand-lettered inscription along the lower edge reads, "Doy infinitas gracias al santo San Francisco de Asís por haberme concedido un favor muy grande," signed Silao Gto 1956.

Ex-votos — small devotional paintings commissioned in gratitude for answered prayers — were traditionally hung in Mexican churches and shrines, where worshippers could read the testimonies of miracles granted. Painted by anonymous or semi-professional folk artists in towns across central Mexico, the genre flourished from the 19th century well into the 20th, with Guanajuato among its strongest regional centers. The naive draftsmanship, vivid palette, and direct first-person voice of the inscription place this firmly in that tradition. Two punched holes at the upper corners indicate it once hung on a chapel or home altar wall.

History

The retablo ex-voto tradition emerged in colonial Mexico as a folk extension of European votive practice, taking distinctive form on small sheets of tin (lámina) once tinplate became widely available in the 19th century. Painted by local artists for working-class petitioners, ex-votos record miracles in plain language — illnesses cured, accidents survived, favors granted — and were left at the shrine of the saint credited with the intercession. By the mid-twentieth century the tradition was waning but still active in towns like Silao, Guanajuato, where this example was made. The inscription does not specify the favor granted, only that it was "muy grande" — a deliberate discretion common to the form.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear consistent with a working devotional object. Scuffing, finish loss, and rust/oxidation to the tin support, most pronounced on the verso and along the lower edge. Paint surface is stable with light surface soiling; inscription remains fully legible. Two original mounting holes at upper corners.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Overall: 8 3/4" H × 6 3/8" W × 1/32" D
• Weight: 2.7 oz
• Medium: Oil on tin (lámina)
• Signed and dated: Silao Gto 1956
• Subject: San Francisco de Asís with kneeling petitioner
• Inscription: "Doy infinitas gracias al santo San Francisco de Asís por haberme concedido un favor muy grande"
• Origin: Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico
• Mounting: Two pierced holes at upper corners; wall mountable with included hardware