Tzintzuntzan: Our Lady of Regla mural

In previous posts we described several of the unique colonial era murals on display in the mission complex at Tzintzuntzan, including those in the cloister.
   Here we look at another unusual fresco in the upper cloister that purports to represent the Our Lady of Regla - a very rare portrayal of the Virgin in this advocation, especially in Mexico, and to our knowledge unique in Mexican mural art.

The Dark Madonna (Cadiz. Spain)

Of Andalusian origin, this early advocation of the Virgin Mary, also known as the Dark Madonna, enjoyed popularity with seafarers and marginalized groups of color in Spain, Cuba and the Philippines over the centuries, especially since the 18th century, but found little following in Mexico. Her devotion there is commonly associated with the Count of Regla, an 18th century mining baron whose extensive silver hacienda in the state of Hidalgo is named for her.

The Virgin of Regla (Tzintzuntzan mural)

While the Tzintzuntzan portrayal follows some of the characteristic features of the image in the pose of the Virgin - she holds the Christ Child in her lap and is crowned, her head surrounded by a halo, or nimbus radiating golden rays - however, unlike other customary depictions in which her figure is presented against a neutral backdrop, here she is posed against a detailed landscape busy with churches and other buildings set against towering rock formations. 

In addition she is white faced and clothed simply in an almost ghostly plain bluish/white bell shaped robe conspicuously lacking any decorative detail or the rich embroidery common to her other images.
   Like other cloister murals at Tzintzuntzan, the fresco is bounded by a painted, burgundy colored frame, although color may have been a later addition to a once monochromatic treatment.

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker