понеділок, 21 липня 2008 р.

New Spain's Retablos

From the appearance of the estípite, a definite change took place in the structural composition of New Spain's retablos. The traditional static model was abandoned, giving free range to new solutions: the predominant design had one single body, reasonably elevated with an ostentatious top, with both parts decorated with intense, formal patterns, managing to separate and direct the cornices, the tops, the scrolls, and other elements toward the space above, filling out the central aisle and using a superimposition of moldings. In such a way the formal energy of Baroque increased by 1750; extraordinary altarpieces were being made, special creations, rich in imagination and full of the enthusiastic piety of the New Spanish society. From the introduction of neoclassical art into Mexico, via the opening of the Academia de las Bellas Artes de San Carlos in 1785, the academics' harsh criticism of the Baroque retablos imposed a more sober aesthetic.

Unfortunately, there is no register of the number of Baroque altarpieces that remain in Mexico, but there are hundreds, scattered throughout the country. Specialists are still making important new discoveries in the most unlikely places, such as the Church of Santa Prisca in the town of Taxco and the Church of the Compañía de Jesus (Jesuits) in Zacatecas.

In the society of New Spain, strictly subject to the commands and dogma of the Catholic Church, the donation of pious works was fundamental. Almost everyone gave donations to the church, according to his or her means. To donate altarpieces was, of course, a privilege of the upper classes. The person paying for an altarpiece was able to chose the form, and the themes that would shape it, so that his pious references became clear, as did his worries and social interests. Given that, just as traditional devotions had arrived from Europe, so also there were certain cults, such as that of San José, Santa Rosa de Lima, and above all Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, who took on a political nationalistic significance; she came to symbolize a criollo ideology, an American feeling that aspired and struggled toward a political separation from Spain.

On the other hand, a donation of an altarpiece or a set of them gave enormous social prestige to the donor. The inauguration of an altarpiece would mark a great social event. The sermon given for this occasion would make known the donor's identity.

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