Horacio Valdez, Nuestra Señora La Reina Del Cielo (Our Lady Queen of Heaven), 1991, carved and painted wood with metal and silver crown, 31 1⁄4 x 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 in. (79.4 x 24.1 x 19.1 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.90
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Nuestra Señora La Reina Del Cielo (Our Lady Queen of Heaven)
- Artist
- Date
- 1991
- Location
- Dimensions
- 31 1⁄4 x 9 1⁄2 x 7 1⁄2 in. (79.4 x 24.1 x 19.1 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood with metal and silver crown
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Religion — New Testament — Mary
- Occupation — other — aristocrat
- Object Number
- 1997.124.90
Artwork Description
Horacio Valdez was one of the first contemporary santeros (carvers of wooden saints) to paint his figures using commercial paints. In this piece the crescent moon on the bottom of the Virgin Mary’s skirt evokes the biblical passage in which a woman appears in heaven at the end of the world, “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head” (Revelation 12:1). The feather represents an eagle wing, which was given to the woman so that she could fly away to escape the devil.