Picture in Focus: Programa de Navidad Poster by Antonio Maldonado

January 10, 2021

Picture in Focus: Programa de Navidad Poster by Antonio Maldonado

In the opening days of the new year, Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, commemorating the revelation of Christ to the world, a holy day drawing on different biblical narratives in the Eastern and Western Churches.  During the next few weeks, I will showcase new images from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection ilustrating these two Epiphany traditions. Western Christians associate the feast with the Adoration of the Magi, when the Christ Child was made known to the Gentiles. In Puerto Rico and throughout the Spanish-speaking world, El Dia des Reyes (The Day of the Kings) is the time for giving gifts brought by the Wise Men. The Three Kings seem to have lost their way in the lush vegetation of the Caribbean island's rainforest in this week's featured artwork, a charming poster from 1971 by Graphic Artist Antonio Maldonado. He belongs to "The Fifities Generation" of Puerto Rican art makers, famed for their silk screen prints publicizing cultural events sponsored by the Community Education Division (DIVEDCO) of the Department of Education, which enlisted leading artists from 1949 until 1986 to create public art in a progressive style, influenced by the New Deal art projects of President Franklin Roosevelt. The new Maldonado Epiphany poster can be found on the Puerto Rican Serigraphs page in the Schools of Sacred Art section. (John Kohan)