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Description
A narrative ex-voto painted in oil on tin in 1954 for Altagracia León Romero of Fresnillo, Zacatecas, thanking the Virgen de la Luz for healing the murmur in her heart.
The Virgin stands at center in her blue mantle with the Christ Child on her arm, crowned by two cherubs. At right a kneeling angel offers her a basket of hearts. At left she draws a soul out of the jaws of Leviathan, the mouth of hell, and beyond it Altagracia kneels with a lit taper. It measures 12 x 11 inches.
It comes from the same source as the rest of my retablos: one unknown painter who never signed his work and has since died. Families commissioned his pieces and took them to their village churches.
An elderly custodian at one of those churches has been collecting this painter\'s work for decades. A picker who travels the small village churches brought it to my dealer, and my dealer brought it to me.
None of those links is documented on paper, so I give it to you as the path it traveled, not as a chain of title.
The inscription
As painted:
\"Alta,Gracia leon Bamero: muy agradecida, con La Virgen De la luz por ayudarla, en su enfermedad. Del corazón Tenia Un soplo. Postrada doi Gracias: inexplicablemente me sane. say Feliz. ya no me operaran mas: 1954 Frezni llo Zac.Tecaz\"
In English:
\"Altagracia León Romero, most grateful to the Virgin of Light for helping her in her illness. She had a murmur in her heart. On my knees I give thanks: inexplicably I was healed. I am happy. They will not operate on me again. 1954, Fresnillo, Zacatecas.\"
The spelling is the painter\'s own: doi for doy, say for soy, me sane for me sané, and the town broken across two lines as Frezni llo. The voice also shifts from third person to first, exactly as painted. Irregularities like these are part of what makes the piece genuine.
Condition
Fair to good for its age, with real wear. The image and inscription are complete and legible.
Scattered hard deposits and abrasion run across the surface, heaviest in the clouds at upper left, around the mouth of hell and along the ground. Fine scratches cross the Virgin\'s robe and the green field. There is a nail hole at top center with the tin raised around it, and the corners are slightly bent.
The verso is bare tin under heavy rust and scale.
Appraisal
Grade: B+
A complete narrative ex-voto with the petitioner, the illness, the year and the town all recorded, and one of the richest compositions in the tradition: the Virgin of Light drawing a soul from the mouth of hell, the angel with the basket of hearts, the crowning cherubs. The surface wear is what holds it back from an A. Graded against realized sales of this painter\'s work.
Gallery replacement value: $550, what it would cost to replace this piece through a gallery, for insurance and estate purposes.
A note on the photographs
One photograph shows the retablo staged for scale. Only the retablo is included.
Shipping and import fees
The price includes DHL Express shipping anywhere in the world, with tracking, packed by Diseños de Cartón in Guadalajara.
Import duty and tax are the buyer\'s responsibility. Tariff code 9701.91, hand-painted original art. Most markets let it in duty-free, and it qualifies for a reduced tax rate wherever one exists.
When it arrives, open the box along the seams; never cut down into it.
If your delivery country differs from your account country, message me before purchasing.
Destination | Import duty | Import tax | Estimated total
United States | 0% | none collected at import | $0
Canada | 0% | 5% GST, or 13–15% HST by province | $15 – $44
United Kingdom | 0% | 5% reduced-rate import VAT on works of art | about $15
European Union | 0% | 5.5% – 13.5% reduced rate, set by your country | $16 – $39
Australia | none on orders under AUD 1,000 | 10% GST, charged at checkout | about $29, paid at checkout
Where tax is collected at delivery, DHL adds a small advancement fee, typically $12 to $20.
Questions
You will always reach a real person, never AI.
God bless,
Ricardo Ivan Cardenas EMBA
St. Joseph\'s University New York Business School Graduate
Item specifics
Type: Painting
Subject: Virgen de la Luz, healing of a heart condition
Original/Reproduction: Original
Date of Creation: 1954
Region of Origin: Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico
Country/Region of Manufacture: Mexico
Material: Tin, Oil
Signed: No
Artist: Unsigned by the painter, petitioner named Altagracia León Romero
Framing: Unframed
Style: Folk Art, Mexican, Religious
Features: One of a Kind, Dated 1954, Inscribed, Hand Painted
Color: Green, Blue, Cream, Gold
Condition: Used
Tariff code: 9701.91
