Zacatecas. The Cathedral of the Assumption 1

In earlier posts we have looked at various colonial treasures in the state and city of Zacatecas*.
In this and a subsequent post we tackle the preeminent monument in the city: the cathedral of the Assumption.  See our earlier post on the cathedral crucifix.

This unique baroque building boasts three facades of unparalleled ornamental richness, informed by a popular feeling. Begun in 1729, several noted designers and architects contributed to its final appearance. In this first post we look at the west front of the cathedral, a classic example of Mexican horror vacui with no surface left undecorated. 

The fantastical, shield like facade, sculpted in rose colored stone, rises in three tiers, each framed by spiral columns wreathed in vines, shells and angels; pearls fruit and feathers are embedded in the tapestry of relief vegetation that fills the intermediate spaces. 

 Between the columns ornamental niches with sculpted pedestals house figures of Christ and the Apostles—13 in all. 

Above the mixtlinear porch, a rose window also ringed by luxuriant relief opens in the middle tier,

A relief of God the Father stands alone in the surmounting gable niche, accompanied by musical angels almost lost in the mass of surrounding floral relief.

* Pinos; Guadalupe; Santo Domingo; 

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

photography by the author and Niccolo Brooker

Michoacán. San Nicolás Chucándiro

The church front before restoration

Originally founded by the Franciscans and later ceded to the Augustinians as a dependency of Cuitzeo, this early mission in the northern Michoacan lakeland was rebuilt in the 1640s as a full convento. 

the church front as restored

It has recently undergone major work; a round turret has been add to the bell tower and a second belfry built atop the south wall. 

The facade with its imposing cut stone entry has been cleaned and repointed, drawing attention to the unusual reliefs around the doorway, which may represent plants or possibly symbolize the spouting waters of the hot springs that gave Chucándiro its place name, also perhaps related to the reliefs on the sanctuary vault.

Other renovations include the opening up of the old porteria beside the church and refurbishment of the attractive two story cloister notable for its prominent shell reliefs—a classic decorative motif in Michoacán.

Another curiosity is the carved stone atrium cross topped with a sundial.

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker, Diana Roberts and online sources.

Mexico. San Miguel Atlautla

Set in the shadow of the volcano Popocatepetl, the church of San Miguel Atlautla appears hewn from local basalt blocks inside and out.

Beside the dark, cliff like exterior stands a stone cross, also sculpted from local basalt with numerous symbols of the Passion in high relief.

The principal colonial artifact inside the church is the expansive early 18th century altarpiece, replete with gilded spiral columns and home to a recently restored statue of the titular saint as well as colonial paintings of archangels. Several other paintings illustrate scenes from the life of Christ.

The porteria beside the church leads to an overgrown patio.

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

color images from online sources

Mexico. San Pablo de Las Salinas

 This dismal outlying barrio, just north east of Tultitlan, in northern Mexico City nevertheless boasts a pretty church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. It is also home to a number of notable carved stone crosses.

The Church

The single nave church with added south aisle dates from the mid 1600s. It is fitted with a modest retablo style facade that houses statues of the patrons Sts Peter and Paul.

The Main Altarpiece

Fashioned in ornate baroque style with gilded spiral columns and estípites headed by angels' heads, the retablo showcases paintings of Franciscan saints and martyrs together with, again, statues of Peter and Paul, here flanking a monstrance in the upper section.

The Atrium Cross

Of uncertain date, this large cross is crowded on all four sides with symbols of the Passion carved in soft relief. The dejected, puffy Face of Christ at the axis trails long locks of hair but wears no visible Crown.

Following the pattern of many others in the area, profile heads and hands on the arms point inwards to the Face. Wounds with pierced holes and droplets of blood are squeezed in beside the finials on either side; a third Wound is inserted below the Lad- der on the main shaft.

Other objects include the Rooster atop a conical Column emblazoned with Lance, Reed and a superimposed Host. A ridge of stacked Coins transects the neck below the INRI placard, and a goggle eyed Skull and Bones jut from the pedestal at the foot of the cross.

On the reverse side, a Crown at the axis stands in a column of religious monograms. Unusual reliefs include that of the Virgin, reminiscent of the Dolorosa at Acolman, above a ghost like flying angel. Bold fleur-de-lis finials with lozenge like leaves cap the arms and head.

A former porteria fronts the convento. A sculpted cross, also carved with Passion symbols, stands atop its triple arcade.

porteria cross

A fine triple west gateway, also capped with carved crosses, commands access to the large atrium.

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker and ELTB 

Mexico. Santiago Ayapango

Resting on the southern slopes of the volcano Popocatepetl, the former convento of Santiago Ayapango was founded by the eminent Franciscan Fr. Martín de Valencia in the mid 1500s as a visita of Tlalmanalco.

The present cruciform church rests atop the foundations of the 16th century mission here, and the front is fashioned in baroque style with construction dates from the mid 1600s to the early 1700s.

Half columns with wavy fluting frame the doorway whose arch is adorned with scrolled vegetal reliefs.
   Similar reliefs in grotesque style patterns accent the features of the upper facade—the paired columns beside the choir window, a round opening in the gable and the pilasters to either side of the sculpture niche above the doorway, which contains an archaic stone statue of the patron Santiago Matamoros which may date from the early years of the mission.

Similar reliefs also adorn the spiral Corinthian columns framing the openings of the bell tower, which is oddly emblazoned with a folkloric relief of St Barbara?:

Inside the church, the main altarpiece is executed in late baroque fashion with estípite pilasters, paintings and statuary that include St Francis, Our Lady of Sorrows and the image of St James as a pilgrim (Santiago Apostol).

Other colonial art treasures of note inside the church include a small but gem like retablo of Guadalupe framed by gilded spiral columns; and a densely composed early18th century painting of the Redemption or Animas/Last Judgment signed by the artist Diego de Rojas.

A dashing equestrian figure of Santiago Matamoros rests in the nave, to be taken out in Procession on his feast day in July.

The former convento, with its well kept cloister, adjoins the south side of the church.

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker and ELTB 

Cristóbal, Antonio and Juan. Los Niños Martires in Mexican colonial art.

Among those canonized by Pope Francis in October 2017, were a trio of Mexican saints known as Los Niños Martires.
   One of the best known episodes of the Spiritual Conquest of Mexico is that of the Niños Martires.
   The story goes that shortly after the conquest, in 1527, Axotécatl, one of the Four Lords of Tlaxcala—allies of Cortés in the defeat of the Aztecs—sent his three sons to be educated in the Franciscan monastery of Tlaxcala.
   On their return, the young men set about smashing idols and reproaching their father for his polygamy and excessive drinking. The enraged lord beat his son Cristóbal and had him burned him to death. The other two boys, Antonio and Juan, fled but continued their preaching and iconoclastic ways, until they too soon suffered a martyr's fate. 

Although popular figures of the trio appear in a few Mexican churches, the martyrdom of the three only appears in two colonial era murals; initially in the porteria of the Franciscan monastery of Ozumba east of Mexico City and later in the church of Santa Maria Atlihuetzia, in the state of Tlaxcala, the location of some of the events portrayed.

At Ozumba, the boy martyrs are identified by inscriptions and are shown in a rural landscape being killed by the villagers by different methods in graphic detail. Churches in the background portray the nearby towns of Tlaxcala (l) and Tecali (r). Note the broken idol on the lower right.

Ozumba mural detail

 

Ozumba mural details

The parish church of Santa Maria Atlihuetzia is a shrine to the memory of Los Ninos Martires, as the boys are known in the pantheon of the Mexican church; their fate is recorded in a pair of dramatic, late colonial paintings with Nahuatl speech inscriptions.

text and images ©2002 Richard D. Perry

Oaxaca. Ozolotepec

We journey south beyond the city of Oaxaca to the remote Zapotec village of Ozolotepec in the rugged Sierra Sur of Oaxaca.

At the heart of the community stands the 17th century church of Santa Maria Ozolotepec. 

The broad, much rebuilt church front presents a modified retablo facade flanked by stubby single tier bell towers. Statues of Sts Peter and Paul occupy niches on either side of the arched west doorway.

Ozolotepec. The nave after the 2017 earthquake.

Inside, the expansive single nave is covered by a spectacular, painted, beamed ceiling hung with spindles. Several baroque altarpieces line the nave, most notably the main retablo and the side altarpiece of St Antony.

   

The retablo mayor

The Main Retablo

 Bankrolled, like the church as a whole, by the eminent cleric Pedro de Otálora Carbajal, who also funded the building of the famous Sanctuary of La Soledad in the city of Oaxaca, the main altarpiece showcases a number of paintings. These include portraits of  St Dominic, St Lawrence and St Gregory as well as Catherine of Alexandria and the Archangel Michael.

St Dominic;                                                  St Lawrence

St Gregory;                                               Nicholas of Tolentino

The side retablo of San Antonio is of perhaps greater historical interest. 

In the center panel, cast in the form of a scene of Purgatory, the commanding figure of St Anthony stands above the struggling souls (animas) , among whom is, on the left, a bearded figure being rescued by an angel, thought to represent the church patron Otálora, and on the right an indigenous man assumed to be a prominent native figure and possible donor of the altarpiece, touching the cord of the saint's robe.

text © 2022 Richard D. Perry

photography by Fernando Herrera

text source: UN PÁRROCO EMPRENDEDOR Y LITURGISTA: EL RETABLO DE SANTA MARÍA OZOLOTEPEC   Selene del Carmen García Jiménez  (2001)

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