Tizatlan: the open chapel frescoes

from the Lienzo de Tlaxcala

Tizatlan was the hilltop capital of Xicoténcatl, "Man with a Bee at his Lips," one of the Four Lords of Tlaxcala. It was here, in 1519, that Cortés had his fateful encounter with the lords, who later allied with the Spaniards in the defeat of the Aztecs. The Lienzo de Tlaxcala, a famous 16th century painted document, portrays them all gathered in front of a wooden cross. 

Tizatlan was the site of Xicotencatl's palace, an extensive compound adorned with statuary and painted altars depicting Tlaxcalan and other deities.

Tizatlan is also noted for its early open chapel with a projecting, arcaded front, modeled on other Franciscan structures like those at Cuernavaca or the nearby Rosary Chapel at San Francisco de Tlaxcala. Although tucked behind the later church of San Esteban, for which it served for many years as a sacristy, the chapel remains a separate structure. 

 

Its striking but functional design features a projecting, arcaded west front, beyond which stretches a lofty transverse nave, high enough to accommodate a pair of raised wooden choirs. The chapel is covered by a substantial beamed roof set on a supporting arrocabe of carved brackets inset with painted angels' heads. 

arrocabe with painted angels (Robert Cox)

A variety of colorful murals glows on the chapel walls, executed in a still vivid palette of reds, yellows, indigo and earth colors. They fall into three groups: the early apsidal murals, the later painted archway, and the large narrative frescoes in the nave.

    
                   Apsidal murals: north wall;       south wall; (courtesy Robert Cox)

The Apsidal Murals

The oldest frescoes, possibly dating as early as the 1540s, fill the two high side walls of the polygonal apse. The murals on the east wall are now largely erased.

   Although rendered in a style similar to the murals of Actopan and Xoxoteco, the focus here is on events following the Crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The three panels on the south wall depict, at the top, a hybrid scene shows Adam and Eve, on the left, witnessing the Risen Christ, red victory banner in hand, reaching into the flaming Jaws of Hell on the right . 

In the center panel, the stern figure of Christ is seated in Judgment, flanked by angels and figures of the Elect, apparently directing the legions of the Condemned towards the gaping mouth of Leviathan. St. Francis appears above Christ, apparently with a tail?. Below, the partial figure of an archangel intercedes for the damned—or perhaps hastens them on their way.

On the north wall opposite, a tiered sequence in the same manner represents the Ascension at the top with the company of the Apostles, the Risen Christ in Glory with the red banner of victory in the center, and an uncertain scene below with Christ again brandishing the crimson banner.

The Sanctuary Arch
Painted later than the apse, possibly as late as the 1700s, this crowded fresco strikes a more festive note. God the Father sits at the apex like an oriental potentate, surrounded by a host of angels, some swinging censers, others singing or playing a variety of colonial era musical instruments.

God the Father

 musical angels over the archway (images courtesy of Robert Starner) 

Incense burners, music stands, the sun, moon and clouds fill the intervening spaces; a profusion of flowers, medallions and cherubs' heads frame the archway and flow between the beam ends.

The Nave Murals
Remnants of large narrative murals along the lateral nave walls, also in color and probably of intermediate date, explore further themes from the life of Christ including his Baptism, with John the Baptist, and a partial Adoration of the Magi. 

Adoration of the Magi, detail

text and images © 2017 Richard D. Perry, except where noted.