San Juan Nepomuceno

José Campeche y Jordán, San Juan Nepomuceno, ca. 1798, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.5
Copied José Campeche y Jordán, San Juan Nepomuceno, ca. 1798, oil on canvas, 41 3⁄4 x 29 1⁄2 in. (106.1 x 74.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.5
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Artwork Details

Title
San Juan Nepomuceno
Artist
Date
ca. 1798
Location
Dimensions
41 3⁄4 x 29 1⁄2 in. (106.1 x 74.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Teodoro Vidal Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — foliage — palm
  • Object — written matter — book
  • Emblem — cross
  • Religion — saint — St. John
Object Number
1996.91.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1996.91.5

Artwork Description

The halo of five stars around the head of San Juan Nepomuceno, the patron saint of confessors, spells out TACUI, Latin for "I did not speak." The letters lead the viewer's eye to the figure of Christ, the object of the saint's devotion. This painting reminded priests of their obligation to remain silent regarding what they heard from those they absolved. José Campeche, a descendant of freed slaves, made a career for himself as an artist and architect, using colonial, European, and folk traditions to create distinctively Puerto Rican artwork at the close of the eighteenth-century.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006