Deo Gratias / I give thanks

By A.Vonn Hartung

A giclee print of the original serigraph "Deo Gratias" / I give thanks by A.Vonn Hartung. It was inspired by the history of Cristo Gate where in 1753 a miracle occurred on the feast of St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The work is a tribute to the power of faith which saved the boy’s life. It is also a tribute to the horse, the gift brought to the New World by the Spaniards. Depicted here is the Andalusian Horse with its typical diagonal gait. As was customary the local boys would assemble to race their horses. During the day one boy, Baltazar Montañez, was unable to control his horse which plummeted over the cliff onto the rocks below. Upon witnessing this, Don Mateo Pratts (the Spanish Secretary of Government) was said to have risen and pleaded aloud, “Christ of Good Health, save him!” The horse died. The boy lived. Don Mateo vowed to build a chapel near the spot and dedicate it to the Savior. It stands to this day at the end of Cristo Street in Old San Juan. In 2020 this serigraph was published in the book “La ciudad en el Tiempo: Cinco Siglos de Representaciones Artísticas de San Juan” by the State Historic Preservation Office to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the founding of San Juan, Puerto Rico.