Source: WTL photo© Wilfredo Lam exhibition in 2016 at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Image: "Autel pour Elegua [Altar for Elegua]" (1944). Oil on paper glued onto canvas. Private collection in Paris.
Comments: In the Cuban Yoruba religion Elegua is an Orisha of the roads (caminos). In The Religion(s) of Santería, Candomble, and Palo Mayombe Elegua is fused with either the Catholic saints St. Michael or St. Anthony of Padua or with the Holy Child of Atocha, all of which are also celebrated in Cuban Roman Catholicism. According to Santería (i.e., Regla de Ocha), all ceremonies and rituals done must first be approved by Elegua. See Leonardo Padura's article/short story about Chano Pozo.
Humanities Question: What elements do you see in this work done in the decade of the 1940s that continue to expand on Lam's further creativity?