Santa Barbara

Unidentified (Puerto Rican), Santa Barbara, ca. 1680-1690, oil on wood panel, 10 ⁷⁄₈ x 8 ¹⁄₄ in. (27.6 x 21.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.9

Free to use

Artwork Details

Title: Santa Barbara
Artist: Unidentified (Puerto Rican)
Date: ca. 1680-1690
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 10 ⁷⁄₈ x 8 ¹⁄₄ in. (27.6 x 21.0 cm.)
Credit Line: Teodoro Vidal Collection
Mediums: oil
Mediums Description: oil on wood panel
Classifications: Painting
Highlights: Early American Art
Subjects: Object — foliage — palm
Architecture Exterior — civic — tower
Religion — saint — St. Barbara
Religion — martyr
Object Number: 1996.91.9
Research Notes: 1996.91.9.pdf
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1996.91.9

Artwork Description

Puerto Ricans depicted religious subjects for homes and churches, although painted images were less common than carved wooden saints. This small panel was probably created as one of several for the front of a pulpit or altarpiece in a church or a private chapel. Saint Barbara is especially revered in Puerto Rico, because she is believed to protect against hurricanes, which are an annual threat to the island. She is represented here with her symbols: a crown, a palm of martyrs, and the tower with three windows where she was incarcerated before being beheaded at her father’s order.