Santa Clara Pueblo Painting of Mimbres-style Jackrabbits by Pablita Velarde [SOLD]

Santa Clara Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde did amazing things with mineral earth paints of her own making, and this painting of Mimbres jackrabbits is a fine example of her work.  Velarde (1918-2006) worked in water-based paints—casein, mostly—from time to time, but she is best known and internationally recognized for her paintings rendered in her handmade mineral paints. She would first draw her designs on Masonite panels that were treated with a coat of pumice. She then used her ground-up minerals as paint to fill in the areas she had drawn. To mix her paints, she combined the pigments with water and glue, and then painted with paint brushes. She would paint each color up to seven layers to gain the consistency she desired. She then would outline the images, once again as many as seven or so times, to ensure that the colors were of suitable strength.

Velarde’s paint creation was a very laborious process.  After gathering the materials from many areas of the Southwest, she ground each mineral to a powdery substance on a metate with a mano.  She then stored the various minerals in jars until ready to convert them to paint. Velarde insisted on following this process because that is the way her ancestors made paints for painting on canyon walls, and she wanted to continue that process.  She is to be commended for continuing such a process. Velarde was born in 1918 at Santa Clara Pueblo. She was one of the first full-time female students in Dorothy Dunn's art class (“The Studio”) at the Santa Fe Indian School. Velarde was active until her death in January, 2006, and is now regarded as one of the most significant figures in the history of Pueblo painting.  Her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter would go on to become notable painters, too.

Velarde’s Mimbres-style animals are always wonderful treats for the viewer who appreciates her style.  Her Pueblo ceremonial scenes—the artist’s most common subject, most likely—are always completed in incredible detail, with remarkable ethnographic accuracy.  Her animals are a bit more playful and expressive, allowing her some freedom to stray from the confines of true-to-life representative work. Even as Velarde explores, she continues to pay respect to her ancestors by creating animals that are clearly inspired by those seen on Mimbres pottery.  Jesse Walter Fewkes’ The Mimbres: Art and Archaeology is an excellent information source for anyone who wishes to compare Velarde’s designs to the earliest known examples.

Here, Velarde’s subjects are two jackrabbits.  Their bodies—curved, semicircular, legs protruding outward diagonally towards the ground—nod to Mimbres figures, as do their eyes.  The eyes seem very expressive—alive, almost—despite being made of little more than an exterior circle and an interior dot each. The land through which the jackrabbits pass is wonderful.  It’s more detailed than is expected, with a sparse but satisfying array of plants and a winding horizon line. In the background, Velarde uses subtle geometric designs, which is typical of her works.  The piece is completed entirely in earthy tones of the Southwestern desert. This is an incredibly charming piece that is unique and expressive while still paying respect to ancestral tradition.

The painting is signed and dated 1978 in lower right.  It is framed in a simple wood frame, with a wide fabric mat.  A short biography and labels from various galleries are attached to the back of the frame.

Condition: this Santa Clara Pueblo Painting of Mimbres-style Jackrabbits by Pablita Velarde is in excellent condition

Provenance: from the collection of a Colorado resident

Recommended Reading: Mimbres Art and Archaeology by J. Walter Fewkes, Avanyu Publishing 1989

Relative Links: Native American Paintings, Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo, Helen Hardin