mexicosmurals: November 2020

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Michoacan. Tzintzuntzan, the upper cloister murals.

Following up on our post describing the lower cloister murals, additional scenes, similarly framed in the upper cloister depict episodes from the life and miracles of the perennial Franciscan favorite St. Anthony of Padua with figures in 18th century dress—probably the most complete series portraying the saint known in Mexican mural art, or any other medium for that matter.

The apparition to St Anthony of the Christ Child

St Anthony healing the sick

The Conversion of Ezzelino da Romano

The Truth from the lips of a small child

Donkey adoring the Blessed Sacrament

St Francis appears to St Anthony in Arles?

A Franciscan Vocation saved by St Anthony?

The Return of a Book of Psalms to St Anthony?

for our other posts on the mural at Tzintzuntzan search the blog with that name

text © 2020 Richard D. Perry
color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker

Mexican Murals

For most people, Mexican murals bring to mind the large scale, revolutionary murals decorating the walls of many public buildings, painted by Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, their followers and successors.

In contrast, this new blog will focus on a much earlier era of mural painting, one that flourished during the 16th century in the conventos and churches of Mexico, as part of the “spiritual conquest” of Mexico undertaken by the missionary Orders, primarily the Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians.

Some of these early colonial murals have already been described in our other blog, which we are re-posting in this blog . Many others will follow, and as with our other blog, we plan to highlight murals of special historic, cultural or artistic interest.

We will also feature selected larger oil paintings of special interest from time to time