Artist:

Emanuel Martinez, born Denver, CO 1947  Search this

Medium:

acrylic on mahogany and plywood

Dimensions:

38 1/8 x 54 1/2 x 36 in. (96.9 x 138.5 x 91.4 cm.)

Type:

Sculpture

Date:

1967

Exhibition Label:

Martinez created this altar for the 1968 Catholic Mass held in Delano California, where César Chávez broke the twenty-five-day fast he had undertaken to protest unfair employment practices and unsuitable work conditions for migrant laborers. On one side of the altar, a crucifix bears a brown-skinned Christ; on the other, an indigenous woman holds wheat stalks and grapes that prefigure the bread and wine of Holy Communion. Martinez defined social struggle in Christian terms by combining elements of spirituality and mestizaje, the mixed racial heritage of Mexicans and their Chicano descendants.

Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013

Topic:

Religion\New Testament\Christ  Search this

Religion\New Testament\Crucifixion  Search this

History\United States\labor history  Search this

History\United States\Civil Rights Movement  Search this

Architecture\religious\altar  Search this

Object\fruit\grape  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the International Bank of Commerce in honor of Antonio R. Sanchez, Sr.

Object number:

1992.95

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk773b6d62e-5554-4149-8600-e2479f845753

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1992.95