Santos Retablos

Art Historical Context

This 1936 watercolor, colored pencil, and graphite rendering by Maude Valle captures traditional Santos Retablos as part of the Index of American Design. Created under the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration, the Index documented American folk and decorative arts through highly accurate illustrations during the Great Depression. Valle’s mixed-media work on paperboard faithfully records the appearance of these small wooden religious panels, which typically measured just 7 to 11 inches. Santos retablos are a distinctive form of Hispanic folk art from the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, where they served as portable altarpieces and household devotionals. Painted with vibrant colors and stylized figures of saints, they blended Spanish colonial techniques with local traditions. Valle’s precise rendering preserves the textures, faded pigments, and carved details of the original objects, offering a window into everyday religious life. The Index of American Design employed hundreds of artists to create an enduring visual archive of America’s material culture at a moment when many such artifacts risked disappearance. This piece highlights both the technical skill of WPA artists and the cultural richness of Southwestern folk traditions, making it a valuable historical record for visitors today.