The Mission of San Gabriel, Alta California in May 1832
This detail from an oil painting of the mission in 1832 foregrounds Natives in their traditional lodging in front of the mission. In the background a group of Franciscans and Natives gather in a procession. Together, these images speak to Native life at Mission San Gabriel and the central role that the mission played in the emergence of Catholicism in colonial California.
Ferdinand Deppe, The Mission of San Gabriel, Alta California in May 1832, oil on canvas, 42 3/4 x 33 1/2 inches (collection of Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library).