Laguna Santero
Active 1795-1810
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The Laguna santero, whose identity is unknown, is named for his surviving monumental retablo mayor (altar screen) in the church of San José de Gracia located at the Pueblo of Laguna.
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José Aragón
Active 1820-1835
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Among the most influential santeros of devotional art was José Aragón. His images vary in subject matter more than any other santero suggesting he had access to printed sources, which he often followed closely.
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José Rafael Aragón
Active 1820-1862
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A prolific and popular artist of the early nineteenth-century, the work of José Rafael Aragón is considered the pinnacle of the art of the santero in northern New Mexico.
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Arroyo Hondo Painter and the Arroyo Hondo Carver
Active 1828-1850
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The village of Arroyo Hondo, twelve miles north of Taos, flourished in the early 1800s and became an important agricultural community. It supported several religious edifices that served the increasing population
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Quill Pen Santero
Active 1828-1840
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The body of work by the anonymous artist known as the Quill Pen santero is limited to a small number of retablos painted in a distinctive style. His work is characterized by sharp delicate lines that appear to...
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Juan Miguel Herrera
Active 1870-1895
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Juan Miguel Herrera was born in 1835 in the village of Arroyo Hondo, just north of Taos, New Mexico. Herrera sculpted mostly Penitente figures for moradas in the Taos area.
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Pedro Antonio Fresquís
Active 1780-1825
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Pedro Antonio Fresquís, was first dubbed as the “Calligraphic Santero” because of the “penmanship-like drawing…of his pieces”. He also was given the name Pedro Antonio Fresquís based on the discovery of
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Molleno
Active 1815-1845
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Molleno, sometimes referred to as the “Chile Painter” had a long artistic career that spanned approximately the years from 1815-1845. There are several altar screens attributed to him in northern New Mexico with a fine
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José Manuel Benavides
Active 1830-1855
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An artist previously known as the Santo Niño Santero because of the numerous images he painted and sculpted of the Holy Child was active between the 1830s and 1850s.
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José Benito Ortega
Active 1875-1907
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José Benito Ortega, the last of the late 19th-century santeros, traveled
throughout northern New Mexico and southern Colorado making santos for small chapels, meeting houses, village homes...
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A.J. Santero
Active 1820-1840
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Very little is known about the A.J. Santero who was given this name because of a painted panel discovered with the initials “A.J.” that was done in his distinctive style.
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Santero of the Mountain Village Crucifixes
Active 1820-1830
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Crucifixes by the unidentified santero of the Mountain Villages Crucifixes tend to be small in size. This unidentified santero worked in the high mountain villages of Córdova, Truchas, Taos, and the surrounding area north of Santa Fe.
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