María Jiménez Ojeda is one of the most beloved painters in San Martín Tilcajete, known throughout Oaxaca for her exquisite flower work. In her family workshop, her brothers Cándido, Alberto, and Aarón carve the wood, and María paints. Her hand is unmistakable.
This devotional cross is María at her best. The body of the cross is filled corner to corner with a field of flowers, dozens of them, pink, red, blue, coral, deep magenta, each one painted with tiny dotted centers and surrounded by fine green leaves. At the heart of the cross, where the arms meet, a large red and yellow blossom blooms, and two white doves face each other above it, wings raised. The borders are golden, framed in coral with a fine white zigzag running along each edge. The sides of the cross are painted a clear lapis blue.
The flower-covered cross is a deeply Mexican form. After the Conquest, when Catholic devotion took root in indigenous communities, local artisans transformed the cross from a symbol of suffering into one of life: the cruz florida, the flowering cross, alive with the abundance of the earth. María's two doves at the center carry the Holy Spirit and bring peace.
A small, beautifully painted object of devotion from one of the village's finest hands.
