Engraving The Madonna of the Cactus in New Mexico by Roderick Mead

In the 1940s, after spending ten years in Europe, Roderick Mead returned to the United States and settled in Carlsbad, New Mexico. For this work, the artist drew on the traditional iconography of the Virgin and Child, but also incorporated new elements related to his private and personal life. The infant...

In the 1940s, after spending ten years in Europe, Roderick Mead returned to the United States and settled in Carlsbad, New Mexico. For this work, the artist drew on the traditional iconography of the Virgin and Child, but also incorporated new elements related to his private and personal life. The infant Jesus, standing to the right of his mother, takes on the features of a young boy. The Madonna gazes at her son with kindness and great tenderness. The vegetation typical of the arid landscapes of New Mexico is omnipresent in the engraving. Each of the natural species can be clearly identified. Thus, this work testifies to Mead's admiration for the nature of New Mexico, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for his work, and the special bond he has with this southern state of the United States.