Tzintzuntzan: The Cloister murals 1.

In a previous post we described two colonial portraits at Tzintzuntzan. We continue our series on the Tzintzuntzan murals with a look at the distinctive frescoes in the cloister.

The Lower Cloister
Enclosed by rectangular painted frames between an upper frieze and a burgundy colored lower dado, an extraordinary cycle of murals along the walls of the lower cloister illustrates the Seven Sacraments—to our knowledge a unique theme among Mexican cloister murals. 
   During recent restoration it was determined that the original, 17th century sepia toned  murals were overpainted in the 1700s with color and new detail, perhaps to reflect changing fashions of style in clothing and deportment. The sacraments portrayed include Matrimony, Confirmation, Confession, Baptism, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and the Last Rites.

 

Matrimony;                                Confirmation

 

penance;                                                 confession

   

Last Rites;                     Holy Orders

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

images ©2017 Niccolo Brooker

Acolman: A Thebaida mural

In an earlier series of posts we detailed the varied frescoes found in the monastery of Acolman and its precincts.  We add to these another post on an obscure, fragmentary mural in the lower rear cloister.

Although the message of this mural is unclear, several details are suggestive. We propose that the entire mural may have been a Thebaida, or portrayal of the Eremitical life— a theme illustrated in many Augustinian monasteries in Mexico, notably at Actopan and Zacualpan.

All that survives is the upper section of this fresco which illustrates a rocky landscape, with figures, buildings, trees, birds  and other creatures along with other details of interest: A friar kneels in a cave on the extreme right.

On the left, a figure points to a serpent on a nearby crag, as an eagle hovers above. This is thought to refer to Honoratus of Arles an early Christian hermit, monk and later French bishop.*

On the right a praying figure swathed in red clothing (or hair?) is lifted Heavenwards by four angels—possibly a reference to St Mary Magdalene, who is also seen in the Crucifixion mural of the cloister.*

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

images courtesy of Charles Lovell with appreciation
* Interpretations based in part on the study, Hortus eremitarum. Las pinturas de Tebaidas en los claustros agustinos by Antonio Rubial