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San Juan Nepomuceno is the Spanish name for Saint John of Nepomuk[1], a Catholic saint who was tortured and ordered to be thrown into a river by the king[2]. He is known as the "martyr of the seal of confession"[2]. Several paintings and sculptures representing St. John of Nepomuk can be found in the Collection of Religious Art of the Amparo Museum[4].
The halo of five stars around the head of San Juan Nepomuceno, the patron saint of confessors, spells out TACUI, Latin for “I did not speak.” The letters lead the viewer’s eye to the figure of Christ, the object of the saint’s devotion. This painting reminded priests of their obligation to remain silent regarding what they heard from those they absolved. José Campeche, a descendant of freed slaves, made a career for himself as an artist and architect, using colonial, European, and folk traditions to create distinctively Puerto Rican artwork at the close of the eighteenth century.
