Panofsky proposed the iconological theory, which involves a thorough analysis of images, highlighting the importance of their historical context. In this way, we can observe how certain themes are repeated in paintings around the world, especially under circumstances that impact or impacted their society. Biological diseases have been one of those constant themes, recorded in paintings around the world, even becoming related to the social life of the individual, governed by the social norms of their group, so much so that they were even used as conveyors of ideological discourse. Faced with phenomena that were not understood or known, people took refuge in faith, especially in popular faith and its works. As a result of these daily concerns, popular faith, and the momentum of folk art, votive paintings were produced in Mexico with the purpose of asking for or giving thanks for divine intervention in daily life, especially in times of crisis, whether due to accidents, illness, and/or war, etc. Painted votive offerings had their golden age in Mexico throughout the 19th century and much of the 20th century, and they continue to be produced today. In this work, several pieces from the Museum of Popular Art and Industries in Pátzcuaro were analyzed using iconological methodology, highlighting their ability to convey historical information and the need to contextualize artistic works historically.
Panofsky propuso la teoría iconológica, por medio de la cual se hace un análisis exhaustivo de las imágenes, resaltando la importancia de su contexto histórico. De este modo podemos observar cómo ciertos tópicos se repiten en pinturas de todo el mundo, resaltando circunstancias propias de su tiempo, especialmente sobre circunstancias que impactan o impactaron a su sociedad. Las enfermedades biológicas han sido uno de esos tópicos constantes, quedado registradas en pinturas de todo el mundo, llegando incluso a relacionarse con la vida social del individuo, regida por las normas sociales de su grupo, por lo que incluso se las usó como transmisoras un discurso ideológico, y ante fenómenos que no se entendían ni se conocían la gente se refugió en la fe, en especial en la fe popular y sus obras. Producto de estas preocupaciones diarias, la fe popular y el impulso del arte popular, en México se produjeron pinturas votivas cuyo propósito era pedir o agradecer la intervención divina en su vida diaria, en especial en periodos de crisis, a sea por accidentes, enfermedades, y/o guerras, en México los exvotos pintados tuvieron su periodo dorado a lo largo del siglo XIX y buena parte del XX, incluso actualmente se siguen produciendo; en este trabajo se analizaron varias piezas del Museo de arte e industrias populares de Pátzcuaro, con la metodología iconológica resaltando su capacidad para transmitir información histórica, y la necesidad de contextualizar históricamente las obras artísticas.
