DepartmentUnited States & Canada

The Burning of Zozobra

NamePainting

Artist Paul D. Holman, MD (American, 1943 - 2020)

CultureAmerican

Date2009

Place madeSanta Fe, New Mexico, United States, Southwest US, North America

Mediumoil on canvas (frame: carved and painted poplar)

Dimensions20 × 17 × 1 in. (50.8001 × 43.1801 × 2.54 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Paul D. Holman, MD

Object numberA.2022.70.2

Collections

Folk Art of New Mexico

ProvenanceFrom the artist’s personal collection

DescriptionThis painting of the burning of Zozobra show the crowd in the foreground, along with the fire dancers holding their torches beneath Zozobra in the moments before he his set on fire. Fireworks in the background light the night sky. Holman wrote the following about The Burning of Zozobra: “The burning of Zozobra is one of the favorite festivals in Santa Fe. Each September fire is set to this 50 foot tall puppet, signaling the death of Old Man Gloom and burning up any worries the people may have. In this painting I tried to use every color in the box. I made the frame with poplar wood.”