Retablos (panel paintings)

Refers to relatively small panel paintings of Roman Catholic religious subjects produced in Mexico, other Latin American countries, and the Spanish-speaking United States. They were produced from Spanish colonial times through the present. The subjects may include saints or miraculous events wherein individuals dedicating the paintings are assisted through the divine intervention of the holy personages depicted. They are typically painted in bright colors, usually oils or tempera, on panels of pine, zinc, copper, or tin-plated iron. The paintings were used in household altars or served as offerings of religious devotion or thanksgiving.