| Note: | K14 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Object Name: | Trajineras (boats) in the chinampas (floating gardens) of Xochimilco | |
| Creation Date: | ||
| Culture: | Colonial Mexican | |
| Location: | Xochimilco, Mexico | |
| Repository: | ||
| Image source: | ||
| XOCHIMILCO (In the Flower Fields) MONASTERY OF SAN BERNARDINO DE SIENA (Franciscan). The present monastery was built between 1550 and 1590 in this beautiful town famous for its flower markets and chinampas (floating gardens). The main western elegant Renaissance facade of the church contrasts its sophisticated classical lines with the rustic scrolls, bunches of grapes and Indian angels flanking the choir window. It shows the ingenuity and spontaneity of the native somewhat crude touch of carving. The north doorway executed in an early plateresque features some Gothic elements. The Indian crafters created a beautiful lunette above the door frame that shows the Franciscan Stigmata surrounded by the crown of thorns and acanthus foliage, a Jerusalem cross and the crown of salvation. The portal is framed by a series of coffers with native flowers. We can note a very clear difference in the quality of the carving between the first and second bodies of the facade. | ||
