1959 Wonderfully Naive Virgin of Guadaloupe Ex Voto Retablo on Tin school supplies I found a painted drum

I found a painted drum similar to this one a year or so ago and have kept a close eye out ever since as I think they’re stunningly beautiful

They're also nicely loosely painted and imperfect

I have found no matches for it out there anywhere though

I just love the surface of this old printer's plate

making me think as much of folk art carved miniature books and bibles than as anything (including for the fact that the slab at his back is carved like a book as well) but I’m really not sure of its origins

1959 Wonderfully Naive Virgin of Guadaloupe Ex Voto Retablo on Tin school supplies I found a painted drumThis is one of two marvelously naive mid 20th century ex voto retablos I purchased from a seller in California, quite similar in manner such that I might guess done by the same person, but with clearly different styles of writing at the bottoms so perhaps not, or perhaps the paintings were made for the subjects, who then painted the texts. Whatever the case, wonderful I think, with this super folky Virgin, feeling to me as holy as it gets, receiving