Collection
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Arts of the Americas

Crucifix

Attributed to José Rafael Aragón

1 of 2

Object Label

From about 1750, Catholic churches in Spanish New Mexico were increasingly decorated with the work of native craftspeople rather than with paintings, sculpture, and furniture imported from Europe. This small santo (saint's image) is typical of the locally produced objects. It is made of indigenous pine and painted with water-based pigments used by native artisans. The artist, José Rafael Aragón, who often invented new arrangements of traditional symbols, here placed an image of the Sacred Heart just below Christ's feet.

Caption

Attributed to José Rafael Aragón (ca. 1795–1862). Crucifix, ca. 1820–1862. Pine, leather, gesso, water-based paints, Cross: 22 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (57.2 x 36.8 cm) Figure: 14 x 11 1/4 in. (35.6 x 28.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 02.257.2427. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

Crucifix

Date

ca. 1820–1862

Geography

Place made: New Mexico, United States

Medium

Pine, leather, gesso, water-based paints

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

Cross: 22 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. (57.2 x 36.8 cm) Figure: 14 x 11 1/4 in. (35.6 x 28.6 cm)

Credit Line

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Accession Number

02.257.2427

Frequent Art Questions

  • Can you tell me more about this?

    Churches in Spanish New Mexico started being decorated with native craftspeople rather than with paintings and furniture imported from Europe in the 1750s and the cross is an example of a typical decoration, created from a local pine wood.

  • This object comes from a very interesting place and time, when the Southwest was Spanish.

    At the time, churches were being decorated with work by native craftspeople rather than with European imports. So this was crafted with indigenous pine wood and local leather.
    One aspect of this work that I really love is the unconventional imagery: it's almost as if Christ is standing on top of the Sacred Heart. Aragon did not have training in Academic conventions, so he was very inventive with how he was using Biblical imagery.

Have information?

Have information about an artwork? Contact us at

bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

Artists and makers

José Rafael Aragón

4 works in the collection