Jalisco: San Juan de Ocotán

Back in 2012 some of our earliest posts on this blog featured missions near Guadalajara, notably Santa Cruz de las Flores and the churches around Lake Cajititlan. We also visited Mezquitan on our web site.
   Now we take a look at some other colonial churches in the area, starting with San Juan de Ocotán.

Northwest of the city of Guadalajara, beyond Zapopan, lies the historic barrio of San Juan de Ocotán with its colonial church.

The square facade of honey colored limestone has been restored to showcase its classical doorway adorned with foliated arabesque panels in low relief.
   The two tier espadaña and rounded gable lend the church a modestly pleasing profile.

A heraldic escutcheon below the gable is carved with a Marian invocation above the lions and castles of Spain—a rare survival of the Spanish Royal arms. 
   It has been pointed out * that this armorial relief bears a strong resemblance to the reverse side of the Spanish silver dollar, or "piece of eight," minted in 1776 during the reign of King Carlos lll, from which it may have been adapted.

In addition, the relief bears the date 1779, which may mark the completion of the present facade, although the church itself is earlier.

Mounted on a high pedestal in the alameda of jaracandas  and eucalyptus trees leading to the church door, is the atrium cross, inscribed with the date 1680. 

© Niccolò Brooker

The plain, squared cross is incised along the arms and shaft in the distinctive, regional cross-within-a-cross pattern. On the front, sharply tipped, arrow-like, twin grooves intersect within a simple wreath at the crossing, while on the reverse diamond points spring from the sunflower style motif at the axis, and are repeated spear like at the ends of the incised lines.

Inside the church, the main item of interest is the statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, formerly belonging to the now demolished hospital chapel of Ocotán.

Ocotán is noted for its colorful festivals: the festival of the Tastoanes to honor Señor Santiago in July, and a musical celebration when the Virgin of Zapopan visits the church on her periodic recorrido.

text © 2015 Richard D. Perry.  images courtesy of Tony Burton and Niccolò Brooker.
* thanks to William Taylor who alerted me to this detail. 
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Puebla: The church of San José

In a group of earlier posts we looked at the colorful tiled churches in the colonial city of Puebla. One that we did not cover in that series is the parish church of San José, whose history and colonial treasures we take a closer look in this post.

San José 

(Plaza de San José.  Calle 18 Oriente 200)

St. Joseph, a Franciscan favorite, was the original patron saint of Puebla. The first church dedicated to him was founded on this site in 1570. But it was not until the middle of the next century that the present church was completed.  

   The colonial image of St. Joseph—according to legend sculpted from a tree struck by lightning, although much altered—survives inside the church on the main altar of a side chapel dedicated to the saint. 

The broad front of the sprawling 17^th century parish church of San José, with its many chapels, faces its own busy city plaza. 

Due to later additions—part of an earlier front lies behind the present one—the present facade is a tiled Pueblan classic. 
   On either side of the arched doorway of gray local cantera, luxuriantly tiled Corinthian half columns are faced with gold, blue and white floral glazed azulejo tiles cut and set diagonally—an effect that both mirrors and contrasts with the petatillo pattern, or diaper work of the dark red ladrillo brick front. 

Zigzag patterning of blue and yellow tile continues atop the spectacular octagonal dome.

The handsome arcaded church interior is equally rich and colorful.  The sequence of gilded colonial altarpieces standing in the aisles along the nave is the finest in Puebla. They display a variety of baroque styles and feature fine sculptures and paintings by Puebla’s celebrated colonial artists, including several by the poblano master Miguel Jerónimo de Zendejas. *

 Churrigueresque altarpieces: St. John Nepomuk (left) *  St. Teresa with archangels (right)

Left: Retablo of La Inmaculada, with spiral columns.  Right: rococo retablo of the Holy Family *

La Capilla de Jesús Nazareno
This sumptuous chapel, known as the Cañon Dorado, adjoins the church on its north side and houses the famous local crucifix of Jesus the Nazarene , 
   Added in the late 1600s to a design by the noted architect Diego de la Sierra, its spectacular tiled dome  is splashed with stars and zigzags of blue, yellow and orange azulejo tiles. 

Folkloric archangels flank a relief of the Cross of Jerusalem atop the gable, which is surmounted by a verónica plaque with the face of Christ and overhead, a replica in stone of the eponymous patron.

Inside the ornate rococo chapel, the statue of Jesus the Nazarene, a 17th century work attributed to the Portuguese sculptor Gerónimo Rodríguez, rests in the neoclassical main altar.  

Numerous large canvases hang in the chapel, but the most interesting group consists of several panels above the entry. Also the work of Zendejas (1784), these notably include an expansive Last Supper with a cat and dog facing each other in the foreground.

text © 2015 Richard D. Perry

sources: Guia de patrimonio religioso de la ciudad de Puebla (2012)

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Chihuahua Cathedral; El Pozo de Animas

In addition to the stone retablos that we described previously, one of the most intriguing features of Chihuahua Cathedral is the so-called Pozo de Animas (Well of Souls) a shaft set in the nave wall between the ornate lateral entry facade and the east tower.

This narrow, enclosed space is marked at the bottom by a plain, carved wall cross set beneath a shell like canopy. 

Above the nave wall, cut into the balustrade, the shaft is ventilated by a series of small windows and is capped by a deep, angled pediment that is surmounted by two pinnacles.

Within the pediment is an unusual relief portraying St Francis, also beneath a prominent shell canopy, presiding over a row of figures (ánimas) emerging from the flames of Purgatory below. 

Although the function of the Pozo is undocumented, this sculpted image suggests the possible former use of this odd structure as an ossuary.

text © 2015 Richard D. Perry. color images © Niccolò Brooker

Angahuan. The Calvary cross

In an earlier post on Angahuan we highlighted, among its many other features, two stone crosses, one plain and one sculpted. 
In this follow up we focus on a third carved cross there.

The Calvary Cross
Not far from the main plaza at Angahuan, atop a Calvary hill of red and black volcanic rubble, stands a quite different style of cross, on which the abbreviated body of Christ is represented by his Face, Hands and Feet. The cross is Christ, and vice versa.

Hirsute, bearded and crowned with thorns, the Face reveals partly closed eyes and is framed by a cruciform tiara carved with triple tongues of flame signifying Las Tres Potencias, the Three Powers of the Soul—memory, intellect and will—a popular devotion of Christ in colonial Mexico.
    The Hands, pierced with deep Wounds and set in lobed, floral frames on the arms, point outwards, while the crossed Feet, bearing a third Wound and framed by a foliated loop, project from the shaft.    A simian looking Skull grimaces from the foot of the cross.

During Easter reenactments, penitents carry a crucifix up the stony hill, leaving their bloodstained crowns of thorns at the base of the cross. 

text & images ©2015 Richard D. Perry

Tree murals in Mexican colonial art

Tree murals

One widespread pictorial device in colonial Mexican art, both in murals, reliefs and easel painting, is that of the tree. Although employed in several variations of complexity and scale, the fundamental theme is that of genealogy, primarily of the religious orders and their founders.

Tree of Jesse. 1498 print by engraver Philippe Pigouchet 

The origin of the motif is the Tree of Jesse, by tradition a depiction of the ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of king David. This was based on a passage from the Book of Isaiah: ” … And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots" 

   From medieval times, this genealogical device was adopted by religious and secular leaders alike to visually represent and legitimize their ancestral claims to power and authority.

Genealogy of St Dominic (relief).  Santo Domingo de Oaxaca

Mexican pictorial representations usually show a symbolic tree or vine with spreading branches rooted, often literally, in the founding figure. While some portrayals are truly treelike, like the painted relief in Santo Domingo de Oaxaca, and the murals at Copándaro and Zinacantepec, which are complete with birds, flowers, leaves and hanging fruit, others are stylized to the point of resembling a map or chart, which was often an underlying intent, as at Cuilapan or Cuernavaca. 

Spiritual Genealogy of St Francis with St Clare.  Zinacantepec, Mexico

Tree of Dominican Martyrs.  Cuilapan, Oaxaca

Genealogy of St Augustine with Crucifixion, Atlatlahucan, Morelos.  

Genealogy of St Monica, Charo, Michoacán. 

Genealogy of St Augustine.  Copándaro, Michoacán.  

Genealogy of St Francis, painting.  San Francisco de Puebla

Often even more sweeping are the giant painted panels adorning later colonial churches, vastly more complex and challenging to read or even take in: for example the Franciscan genealogies at San Francisco in Puebla and the church of San Fernando in the capital.

Genealogy of St Francis, painting.  San Fernando, Mexico City

text © 2015 Richard D. Perry

Saint Elmo in Mexico

We present another in our occasional series on the depiction of catholic saints, both well known and obscure, in Mexican art. 
    Blessed Peter González, referred to in Spanish as Pedro González Telmo or simply San Telmo, was a Castilian Dominican friar and priest, born in 1190.  Educated by his uncle, the Bishop of Astorga, he became a celebrated preacher, accompanying King Ferdinand III of Castile and Leon (St. Ferdinand) on his expeditions against the Moors.

from a 1770 print by Manuel Rivera de Costoya

Thereafter he devoted his life to the evangelization of, among others, mariners along the coast of Spain. González died in 1246, and was beatified in 1254 by Pope Innocent IV. 
   Although never formally canonized, he is popularly called San Telmo in Spanish speaking countries. He was revered as the patron and protector of sailors, especially during the hazardous early years of exploration, and transatlantic voyages during the colonial period.

    He is best known for his association with St. Elmo's fire, a phenomenon that appears on ships at sea during thunderstorms and is regarded by sailors with awe for its glowing points of bluish light atop the masts.

   Although not portrayed as frequently as other popular saints in Mexico, he does appear in a handful of early colonial murals, invariably shown holding a ship or galleon, his principal attribute.  On occasion he also holds up a candle or flaming torch—a Dominican symbol as well as one of fire.

Here are portraits of San Telmo from three early Dominican missions in Mexico:

cloister mural detail. Tepetlaoxtoc, Valley of Mexico

partial cloister mural. Yautepec, Morelos

cloister lunette mural. San Pedro Etla, Oaxaca

text and color images © Richard D. Perry 

See our earlier posts in this series: 

 San Nicolás de Tolentino; San Antonio Abad, Duns Scotus, San Charbel Maklouf, St Rose of Lima, St Peter Martyr, San Dionisio, St Ursula.

The Altarpieces of Yucatán: Calkini update

Calkiní 

“Power of the Sun,” the English translation of "Calkiní,” conjures up an image of massed sun worshippers crowding into the dazzling precincts of an ancient ceremonial center. 
   Although the multitudes of pilgrims are long gone and the Maya temples here have long been razed, the grand monastery of San Luis Calkiní has inherited the spiritual mana of the site. 

Founded in 1549 by the Franciscan pioneer, Fray Luis de Villalpando, the centerpiece of the original mission was its simple but stunning open-air chapel, erected in the 1560s. 
   Placed squarely atop the main Maya temple platform, with an attached pole and thatch ramada, it dominated the vast plaza and was clearly intended by the friars to dramatize the Catholic ceremonial for the assembled native converts, just as the ancient shrine had served the Maya gods before. 

In the 1600s the friars built a substantial stone church with a polygonal apse extending west from the open chapel (see plan), and in the early 18th century, a second, longer church was erected on the site of the original ramada and the open chapel converted into the sanctuary we see today. 

   Even though this new, south facing parish church was also built on a grand scale, its new nave failed to reach the height of the old open chapel, whose original arch can still be traced in the exterior wall of the fortress-like sanctuary block above the roofline. 

The broad church front is anchored by plain tower bases, although only a single south tower was added. Fluted Doric pilasters and quarter columns frame the projecting center pavilion of the facade, which culminates in a striking shell canopy over the choir window and a decorative balustrade above.  

   Although the configuration of the Calkini facade is unique in Yucatán, it bears a resemblance to the church of San Cristóbal in Mérida, with which it is broadly contemporary.  And traces of red and blue paint indicate that at one time it was brilliantly colored like the ancient Mayan temples that preceded it.

The Main Altarpiece 

This splendid retablo mayor is the outstanding interior feature at Calkiní. Created in the late 1700s it is of exceptional size—rising some thirty-five feet above the main altar—a masterful assemblage of sculpture and colorful ornament. The altarpiece, together with its reliefs and statuary was recently cleaned and restored under the direction of INAH Campeche.

   Framed in an intermediate style that combines classical, Corinthian inspired columns with late Baroque elements like broken pediments and spiral colonnettes, the altarpiece is bordered by a wavy outline with floral ornament that strike an almost Asian note especially in the upper tiers.

© Charlotte Eckland

Blue-green sculpture niches are set between columns, with gold accents glowing against the warm cream background. Floral motifs fill every space: garlands adorn the side niches and even the sober crucifix at the apex is surrounded with flowers.   

   The figure of San Luis Obispo (St. Louis of Toulouse), the patron  saint, occupies the center niche, with St. Francis to his right and the Virgin in the niche above. 

Although damaged, the reliefs of the Four Evangelists on the base panels (predella) are especially appealing; each saint holds his gospel and is accompanied by his traditional symbol—St. John to an eagle, St. Matthew to an angel, St. Mark to a lion and St. Luke to a bull. 

   Following its restoration the freshness and charm of this fine regional retablo are once again evident, further augmenting the high reputation and unique regional quality of the Yucatán altarpieces.

Elsewhere in the church the symbols of the Evangelists reappear on the base of the decorative sculpted pulpit.

El Señor de La Misericordia

Finally we should mention the famous Cristo de La Misericordia of Calkini, usually placed high above the main altar. This exquisite crucifix is one of the most beautifully realized and detailed of its kind anywhere in Mexico.
   Although some authorities have dated it in the 1560s, more or less contemporary with the Cristo de Las Ampollas in Merida cathedral which it superficially resembles, it looks a little later, maybe 17th century and possibly even a Spanish import. 

text and images © Richard D. Perry, except where noted.