Acolman: The Open Chapel fresco

 

Between the church and adjacent convento, a broad archway opens on the upper level, crowned by a plain, rectangular alfiz. This is the original open chapel, which may date from the Franciscan years at Acolman before 1540. From this raised balcony the friars would preach to the Indians assembled on the terraces below.

view from open chapel to terraces below

Restoration of this elevated chapel revealed a dramatic mural on the rear wall portraying St. Catherine of Alexandria, the patroness of preachers. Although appropriate to the Franciscans, it is not associated with any particular religious Order and seems likely to postdate 1540.
   Swathed in rippling robes, she is crowned, as a royal, and holds up an open book, a symbol of her erudition; the saint also holds an impressive sword—the instrument of her martyrdom. A fragment of her traditional wheel remains at upper right and at her feet, the severed head of her tormentor the Emperor Maxentius. 

text © 2018 Richard D. Perry

color images by the author and courtesy of Marina Hayman