Ixmiquilpan: The Friezes

Last year we ran an extended series on the murals of Ixmiquilpan.

Ixmiquilpan, the upper nave frieze, detail

The Church Frieze
While most commentary on the murals has been focused on the Battle scenes along the nave of the church, which take the form of a giant frieze, another less noted frieze runs around the nave at the roofline, using the same basic design and coloration, as well as some of the same imagery as the battle frieze, with medallions that include warriors, centaurs and other mythical beasts, framed by acanthus foliage. 
   Because of its height, uneven condition, and lacking the scale, narrative drama and vivid detail of the lower frieze, its effect is dulled. And perhaps because of this, unlike the battle friezes below, the upper frieze was never whitewashed and is unaltered.

Several other friezes embellish the church and convento. 

Sacristy frieze with medallion of the Agony in the Garden

The Sacristy Frieze
In the sacristy, as in the church, an upper frieze mirrors the narrative frescoes on the walls below, depicting Passion scenes and portraits of saints in the same style but set in medallions within a matrix of foliage and ornamental strapwork.

Monochrome foliated friezes survive around the cloisters and stairwell framing escutcheons of religious and Augustinian insignia in a parade of exotic beasts, including dolphins, peacocks and pegases. 

 

See our earlier posts on the convento murals of Ixmiquilpan: The Sacristy; Last Judgment; 

text © 2018 Richard D. Perry 

color images by Niccolo Brooker and Benjamin Arredondo

Natividad Tepoztlan: the murals

The ruined nave of Teopanco (courtesy of Robert Jackson)

In 1538 Dominican missionaries, led by the energetic Fray Domingo de la Anunciación, baptized the old king Tepoztécatl and converted the natives to Catholicism. Initially, the friars occupied a ruined palace at Teopanco and began construction of a mission there using the ancient stones.

However, late in the 1550s, they moved to a more central site and a great monastery slowly rose there; its church of Our Lady of the Nativity destined to become the flagship Dominican priory for the region. 

In previous posts we have looked at its architecture and the varied stone crosses of Tepoztlán. Here we review some of the highlights of the early colonial mural program of the convento.

The Murals Although the convento was not completed until the 1580s, as with the other Dominican houses in the region, the walls and ceilings of the Tepoztlan convento were covered with murals in a variety of sizes, styles and colors. Sadly, some of these have deteriorated to the point where few whole passages remain. However, the surviving fragments do give the visitor some insight into the former richness of the mural program here. 

More than other Dominican monasteries in Morelos, and perhaps because of its role as the mother house for the region, the mural decoration at Tepoztlan is almost exclusively, even obsessively focused on the symbols, insignia and the glorification of the Order.

Throughout the convento, in the cloister and side rooms, ubiquitous artesonado ceilings incorporate the Dominican symbol of the rosette, contained within the usual hexagonal patterning and rendered in painstaking attention to every unfolding petal.

Everywhere too, the stylized Dominican fleur-de-lis cross appears, accompanied in turn by musical angels, swags, stars, foliage and here, the Dominican dogs, flaming torches upheld in their teeth.

The Sala de Profundis
The sole surviving narrative murals at Tepoztlán are found in the former friars' chapel. Over the doorway, flanked by angels, two Dominican friars, presumably Fray Domingo de la Anunciación (Thomas Aquinas?) and St. Dominic himself, uphold the church. God the Father looks down in approval from above.

Along the walls, rows of friars clutch crosses and books, symbols of faith and martyrdom, oddly accompanied by crossed bones. The room is ringed by another undulating frieze, this time with entwined, serpentine fish, dolphins and birds—possibly ibis?

The Cloister 

Although any original narrative mural scenes have disappeared from the walks, a striking frieze or dado wreathes its way along the walls at shoulder height, Crowned heads of kings emerge amid the foliage incorporating medallions with various insignia, including again the Dominican cross.

Apart from the dado, no other original murals remains in the cloister aside from a Calvary scene in one corner niche which depicts three wooden crosses rising above a rock-strewn sepulcher while stylized trees rise behind the cairn and an empty tomb stands in front—signifying Crucifixion and Resurrection.  

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry. 

images by the author, Niccolò Brooker, Robert Jackson and ELTB

The Murals of Otumba

High on the arid northeastern rim of the Valley of Mexico, Otumba is the only town to commemorate in its place name the Otomí people, the first settlers of the region.  After the completion in 1550 of the Arcos de Zempoala, an imposing aqueduct that brought water to the settlement, the primitive Franciscan adobe mission was replaced by the stone monastery, distinguished by its intricate, tequitqui stone carving throughout.

  The richness of the stonework was once matched by the extensive convento murals, which are now only partial and in poor condition.

Several archways are painted in color, some with foliated or grotesque bands and portraits of archangels, framed by black and white coffering with red accents.

   

Other passages of complex, multilayered panels and friezes, appear around the doorways, also mostly monochromatic. 

   

Again, these feature unusual geometrical coffering in Renaissance style with Mannerist swags and strapwork, leavened by figural elements of birds and foliage with some enigmatic humans or supernaturals .

A complete mural above one doorway depicts a stylized Calvary scene with a panoply of the Arma Christi.

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

images by the author and courtesy of Niccolo Brooker

Colonial Music: The bassoon

In earlier posts * we have drawn attention to the portrayal of musicians and musical instruments in colonial art, primarily in paintings and murals.
   In this post we focus on one unusual instrument that occasionally features in these portrayals: the early bassoon, known in colonial times as the bajón or bajoncillo.

This portable wind instrument was employed in procession and in church music, often to echo vocal parts in polyphonic arrangements. Here we illustrate examples of such portrayals, some in the Michoacan region and elsewhere:

Nurio

Nurio
Perhaps the most sophisticated portrayal is that in the under choir at Nurio in the Sierra Tarasca of western Michoacan, thought to be the work of an accomplished Mexico City painter circa 1700, where a series of eight mural panels shows angels playing traditional colonial church instruments. These include the strings on the south wall: harp, guitar, mandolin and viol; and wind instruments on the north wall with an organ, bajon, sackbut and a chirimia or shawm.

Cocucho

Cocucho
The portrait at nearby Cocucho is more folkloric in style, probably dating a half century or so later. As at Nurio, the murals line the under choir with wind and strings appearing on the north and south walls in turn. Here the musicians are dressed as archangels, lending greater authority.
The Bassoonist is accompanied again by a chirimia and a horn.

Tabi

Tabí
This recently restored portrayal of an angelic bajonista is found in the elevated camarín of the church in Yucatan and may also date from the mid to late 1700s.  It is also popular in style and is accompanied by a chirimia and singing angels. Painted to accompany serenades to the venerated Virgin of Tabí.

Tabi

 

San Gabriel Azteca
This portrayal of a bajonista appears with other celestial angelic players in the baptistry ceiling of this church in Hidalgo State.

San Agustín, Querétaro
Our last example is one of a group of statues atop the drum supporting the dome of this monastic church in the city of Querétaro. Although damaged, it again portrays an archangel playing what appears to be a bassoon. Other musicians include viol and mandolin players.

There may be other portrayals of bajonistas in Mexican colonial art, and we welcome any intelligence as to their whereabouts.
* Ziracuaretiro; Jaracuaro; Tizatlan; Naranja; Pomacuarán; 

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

images © by the author and Niccolo Brooker

San Juan Metepec: the convento murals

The mission of San Juan Bautista Metepec, like nearby Zinacantepec was founded here by Franciscans from Toluca as early as 1532.  Although the present church is much later, with an elaborate painted facade in Pueblan baroque style, the convento dates from the 1560s. 

Recently restored, the whitewashed two-story cloister is framed by low arcades with flattened arches and sturdy Doric columns.  

The Murals
Framed by painted arcades with ornate baluster columns and upper friezes, several large narrative murals have survived in the upper cloister. Mostly partially restored, although some remain incomplete, they depict often portrayed saints and martyrs that include St. Peter, St. Lawrence, St. Sebastian as well as the less common St. Helen.
   Painted predominantly in the customary warm charcoal tones, these 16th century frescoes include a variety of detail, despite the erasure of some background painting.

Framed by an ogival arch and Plateresque pilasters, this portrait of St. Peter, holding his keys, includes scenes from his life including the angel visiting him in prison and his crucifixion upside down, set in a view of the local landscape.

The angel visits St Peter in prison

The  portrait of St Helen is less elaborately framed, although song scrolls appear in the  spandrels of the archway. Details include the finding of the Holy Cross, painted in red, and two birds—a buzzard and a red dove posed in the wooded landscape behind.

The finding of the Holy Cross (detail)

 

Also framed by a fanciful scalloped archway, the martyr St. Sebastian is shown in his classic pose:  bound almost naked to a tree and transfixed by arrows, here flanked by animated bowmen.

Another early martyr, the Spanish born saint St. Lawrence, stands on a pedestal holding a grill, the traditional instrument of his martyrdom, details of which are shown in the background.

Elsewhere in the convento, the beamed former refectory displays friezes with Franciscan insignia.

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry

color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker

Zinacantepec: the open chapel retablo

In previous posts we have mentioned the open chapel at San Miguel Zinacantepec and its grand carved baptismal font. The chapel is distinguished by its early murals which we cover in a previous post, but here we focus on the striking painted retablo mounted at the rear of the chapel.

At the base of the altarpiece, are the four evangelists: from the left: St Mark, St Luke, St John and St Matthew.

The Archangel Michael

Above, in the center panel, is patron St Michael the Archangel, flanked by the Fathers of the Latin Church: to his right: St Gregory and St. Ambrose, and to the left, St. Jerome and St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

On the upper level we see, at center, the Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation, with the Archangel Gabriel at left and on the right The Archangel Raphael.

   God the Father presides in the crowning triangular pediment. 

text © 2019 Richard D Perry

color images courtesy of Niccolo Brooker

the murals of Zinacantepec

Starting in the 1520s, the Toluca Valley, west of Mexico City, was evangelized by the Franciscans; during the 1550s and 1560s a network of missions was built, radiating out from their monastery of San Francisco in the city of Toluca.

Of these early missions, the monastery at Zinacantepec, begun in 1550, is one of the best preserved, as are the variety of distinctive early murals that adorn several of the monastery walls. 

The Open Chapel

The oldest portion of the monastic complex, dating from the 1560s, is the spacious open chapel which is integrated into the arcaded portería that fronts the convento to the south of the church.. 

Recessed behind the larger center arch of the elegant five-bay arcade, the chapel takes the form of a substantial niche framed by an archway of cut stone. Its flared sides lead the eye inwards to the newly restored 17th century altarpiece mounted on the rear wall. 

 

Of special interest to us, though, are the flanking murals on the angled side walls of the chapel. Earlier than the retablo and possibly dating from the late 1500s, these two large panels picture St. Francis preaching to the birds and fishes and receiving the Stigmata opposite. Now in fair condition, both panels appear to have been originally monochromatic, with the blue and rust tones added later.

Anteporteria

Inside the main entrance is a vestibule which leads to the main courtyard of the cloister. A magnificent 16th century mural, set above the low main door into the cloister, is known as the Tree of Life.  Employing the traditional Tree of Jesse format common to other Mexican murals of this variety,  it illustrates the history of the Franciscan Order and its martyrs. 

The tree grows from the chest of the reclining St. Francis.  St. Clare of the Second Franciscan Order emerges from a flower above him while various Franciscan saints and martyrs issue from flower/clouds on the many branches.

   Unlike the other frescos, this one appears to have been originally polychrome, the colors including red and green accents, flesh tones and framed by bands of color.   

The Cloister

Faced by Tuscan arcades the cloister has two floors and now houses the exhibits of the Museo Virreinal de Zinacantepec. 

   Several large rectangular panels along the corridors have been partially restored. They largely consist of monochrome depictions of prominent saints, including Peter and Paul, martyrs like St Lawrence and St Sebastian, as well as a portrait of the Virgin with many of her attributes. 

 

Although the finely drawn outlines of the figures are clear, much of the original background detail has been lost, giving them an isolated appearance. 

There are also some surviving but again, incompletely restored Passion scenes including a Flagellation and large, faded Calvary scene with three crosses in color? 

    

In addition to the narrative murals, Zinacantepec boasts a variety of mural ornament in the form of polychrome friezes, grotesque bands and patterned wall decoration.

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry  images by the author and Niccolo Brooker