The Epazoyucan murals: Two Lamentations

In an earlier post we looked at the polychrome murals in the cloister at Epazoyucan.
   Partly because of its highly emotional expression of grief, the Lamentation scene, which follows the Descent or Deposition of Christ from the cross, is one of the most widely depicted episodes in the Passion sequence. 
   Portrayals of the scene and its participants in art have changed with time and place, in Europe as in the New World and even within the same locale, as the two murals we examine at Epazoyucan can attest. 

The Cloister Mural
This mural is one of several to survive in the corner niches of the lower cloister. Several figures cluster about the dead Christ. Five are identifiable as saints, as evidence their haloes. 
   From the left, these are the youthful John the Evangelist, standing, and the three Marys, plus Mary Magdalene — the latter holding Christ's head, although she may alternatively be the figure in a red robe. 

 

The Virgin is of course in blue, holding the emaciated body, and the other two may be Mary of Cliopas or possibly St Anne in the background. The third woman may be Mary Salome, Mary, mother of James; or Mary of Bethany. The two secular figures standing on the right are Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.

   

Although the colors may have been altered over time, research has shown that the original mural was executed partially in color, with the blues and reds later much enhanced.

The Sala De Profundis
The second, similar depiction of the scene appears in the friar's chapel or Sala De Profundis, although with a slightly different cast of characters, and painted in a different style and hand.
   Executed in a warm grisaille, the treatment of the figures is less stylized than the cloister version, and its subtlety of line and modeling is its equal if not its superior. Both murals of course were executed by native Otomí artists under the friars' supervision.

While the specific graphic sources are unclear, both versions are derived from northern European prints and appear close to the widely known Albrecht Durer print of the episode.

text © 2018 Richard D. Perry.

color images by the author; details by Niccolò Brooker