St. James Moor Slayer

This polychromed wood relief is catalogued by the Hispanic Society as by an anonymous Mexican artist, circa 1600. If not the surviving centerpiece to an altarpiece which was subsequently framed later in the 17th or 17th century, the piece may have been a stand alone work of art. It is of extraordinary elegance and refinement, portraying the patron saint of Spain miraculously appearing on his white striker at the Battle of Clavijo (May 23, 844) to save the Christian army against the Emir of Córdoba and his Muslim forces. Deemed a pivotal early event in the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula the conflict itself is apocryphal.

Exhibited:
Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World, Nov., 2011 – Jan. 29, 2012. The exhibition traveled to Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City, Summer, 2012.

New York, Hispanic Society Museum and Library, Nuestra Casa: Rediscovering the Treasures of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, Feb. - April, 2022.