Ixmiquilpan. The Sacristy murals 2

In our previous post on the Passion murals of Ixmiquilpan, we noted the unusual number of rare, post Resurrection scenes in the sacristy, focusing on the unique fresco of the Noli Me Tangere biblical episode.

    On this page we look at three other post-Resurrection events illustrated in the sacristy mural cycle: The Ascension; Pentecost, and Christ's appearance to the Apostles (Doubting Thomas.) All three frescoes, drawn from Flemish prints, are skillfully delineated in warm monochrome, accented with turquoise and burgundy tinted details.

The Incredulity of Thomas

Christ's appearance to the Apostles (#10)
Shortly after Jesus revealed himself to the Apostles after the Resurrection, when Thomas joined the group he expressed skepticism about Christ's appearance, refusing to believe until he could actually see and touch the wounds received on the cross.

   According to tradition, Thomas then touched the wound on Jesus' side and became a believer. This episode, infrequently illustrated, contains a cautionary message. In Jesus' words, " Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: but blessed are they that have not seen, and still believe".

   The wide eyed figures are compressed into a narrow frame, which heightens the sense of drama. The distinctive regional geological feature of Los Frailes appears in the landscape. 
  Apart from a partial depiction at Tepetlaoxtoc, portrayal of this scene at Ixmiquilpan is thought to be unique among surviving early Mexican monastic murals.

The Ascension of Christ (details)

The Ascension (#11)
This more commonly portrayed event, which took place 40 days following the Resurrection, marked the transition of Jesus from the earthly realm to that of God. 
   In these literal details from the mural, the Virgin Mary kneels in prayer among the gathered Apostles to witness the physical ascension. Christ's footprints are imprinted on the hillside behind and his lower body can be glimpsed as he rises into the celestial clouds.

Pentecost

Pentecost (#12)
Taking place fifty days after Easter, this biblical episode commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles while they were in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost, believed to signify the beginning of evangelical Christianity.
Once again the Mother of Jesus occupies center stage as the rays of the Holy Spirit descend upon the awed group of bearded Apostles.

text © 2017 Richard D. Perry

color images by the author and courtesy of Niccolò Brooker

Ixmiquilpan. The Sacristy murals: Noli me Tangere

In a previous post we examined the Last Judgment mural in the cloister at Ixmiquilpan. Among the highest quality frescoes in the convento are the largely monochrome murals that line the church sacristy, formerly part of the friar's chapel and adjacent chambers. 

Devoted to murals depicting Christ’s Passion, they are generally conventional in iconography and style, based on Renaissance prints and similar to many other 16th century murals in the region. 
The actors portrayed in the various scenes in this long cycle are exceptionally expressive, with much background incident and landscape detail. 

In this post we focus on one of the most unusual of the frescoes, that of the Noli Me Tangere scene, one of four post Resurrection scenes portrayed—a rare conjunction in early monastic murals. 

   This episode, recounted only in St. John’s Gospel, concerns the first appearance of the resurrected Christ, to St. Mary Magdalene:

"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' 

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?' Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.' Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbouni!' Jesus said to her, 'Do not touch me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord'."

This biblical subject was popular among prominent European painters, from Giotto and Fra Angelico to Titian and Michelangelo, and there were numerous graphic versions, notably from northern European printmakers.

While clearly based on a graphic model, the precise source of this fresco is so far unidentified. The best known example and closest to the Ixmiquilpan fresco in composition is the 1510 engraving by Albrecht Dürer, part of his Small Passion series.
   The most intriguing aspects of this mural, apart from its uncommon subject matter, are first of all the central figures, and second, the background details.

There are significant differences from the Dürer version, notably in the figure of Christ, who instead of holding out one hand in warning towards Mary Magdalene—the traditional and almost universal pictorial pose—here holds two garden implements, one in each hand, with no "warning off" gesture. Neither hand shows the stigmata. 

    In addition, while kneeling, as was customary, Mary holds her hands in prayer instead of extending them towards Jesus. Both of these elements tend to deemphasize the critical moment of recognition and attempted personal contact, instead of dramatizing it as might be expected. And Mary is shown without her usual jar of ointment, further depersonalizing her and downplaying the emotional power of the scene. A curiously detached portrayal.

The landscape surrounding the encounter is especially varied and detailed. Carefully drawn native plants dot the foreground and rabbits nibble contentedly on the left below the hill of Golgotha with three crosses and browsing animals. 

   A gridded field occupies the middle ground along with an unusual, structurally detailed tower, mounted on a high, square base and prominently accented in turquoise and rusty hues—probably a specific monument. A church, a turreted city—presumably Jerusalem—and an aqueduct or bridge rise beyond.
   As in other sacristy murals at Ixmiquilpan, rocky hills and outcroppings appear in the landscape, some clearly of local significance and possibly referring to Los Frailes, a distinctive topographical feature near neighboring Actopan.

text and color images © 2015/2017 Richard D. Perry

Totolapan: The Miraculous Draft of Fishes

In our previous post we described a unique but puzzling mural in the entry vestibule of the convento at San Guillermo Totolapan. For this post we look at another unique but poorly preserved mural.

The Cloister murals
Once painted wall to wall—and ceiling too—with 16th century murals, much of this early cloister mural art has been lost and what remains is in fair to terrible condition. While some of the arcade portraits have been partially restored, the larger frescoes along the walks has been lost.
   A few now fragmentary and in some cases barely identifiable murals subsist in the lunettes above the end walls, which is unfortunate, since they reveal both skilled draftsmanship and unusual subject matter. Painted for the most part in charcoal tones  they include a Crucifixion and a portrait of St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine. Two others are of special interest:

The Miraculous Draft of Fishes  
This damaged, polychrome fresco illustrates a miracle as recorded in the Gospel of St. John, in which Jesus appears on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection.
   Several of the disciples are fishing but catch nothing. Then Jesus, unrecognized, tells them to cast their net on the other side of the boat, after which they haul in a large quantity of fish.  At this point the apostles then recognize Jesus and, by tradition, St. Peter leaps into the water to greet his risen Lord—a detail that is either obscured or missing in this fresco.

Jesus by the water

Otherwise, the details follow most classic portrayals of the scene: Jesus stands on the shore to one side, while the apostles sit in their (red) fishing boat on the other. Buildings flank the far shore of the lake while waterfowl strut along in the foreground. No net is clearly shown here, although wear and tear of the mural and the later? cutting in of a doorway may obscure this element. 

   To our knowledge, this portrayal of a celebrated scene in the life of Christ is unique in early Mexican mural art.

Illustrated on another lunette is what appears to be a related, post Resurrection scene, that of Peter meeting Jesus on the Appian Way (aka Quo Vadis)—if so, also a portrayal of this apocryphal episode  in early Mexican mural art.

* Note: the church was badly damaged during the 9/19 Mexican earthquake. No word yet on the fate of the many valuable murals there. Stay tuned.

text ©2017 Richard D. Perry

color images by Niccolo Brooker and Robert Jackson