One of the most genuinely primitive art forms to come into existence in historic America is that of the santero, the maker and painter of colorful religious images known as santos. Santos were of two kinds, retablos (flat paintings on wood boards) and bultos (figures in the round). They were produced during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to decorate the churches and household altars of the Spanish colonial villages along the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico and the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. Few of these isolated villages had a resident priest, even fewer could afford to import sacred images from Mexico or Spain. Thrown upon their own resources, the village artisans copied existing works and improvised. Thus, prompted by faith and a long-standing religious tradition, the art of santo-making was born.
Saints in the Valleys discusses both the history and technology of santo-making. It includes biographical data on four of the best known wood carvers and an iconographical guide to the identification of the subject matter of retablos and bultos. The author, José Espinosa, is well versed in his subject and is himself a descendant of the people who created this art. Designed for both popular and scientific consumption, the book is a handsome and valuable reference work for historians, artists, museums, and private collectors. It is a much needed addition to the literature on a fascinating and still relatively little known folk art. It is only regrettable that the author has not included a discussion of the recent revival of bulto-making in New Mexico. Although no longer made primarily for religious purposes, these charmingly naïve religious figures retain much of the spiritual grace and elegance of their forebears.
