| Note: | K64 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Object Name: | Main facade and open chapel (right) of the monastery | |
| Creation Date: | c. 1550 | |
| Culture: | Colonial Mexican | |
| Location: | Monastery of Saint Augustin of Acolman, Acolman, Mexico | |
| Repository: | ||
| Image source: | © Dr. Manuel Aguilar | |
| ACOLMAN Main facade and open chapel (right) of the Monastery Of San Agustin was founded by the Augustinian order in 1539, and the outstanding pure plateresque facade of its church was finished in 1560. The facade of Acolman served as inspiration for other monasteries that show certain similarities like Metztitlan, Yuriria, Cuitzeo, and lxmiquilpan. The facade of the monastic church of San Pablo Yuriria in the state of Guanajuato is almost identical to Acolman, but with decidedly more Indian decoration and flavor. The carving of Yuriria shows more crudeness and some degree of technical imprecision. The Indian taste liked the profusion of decoration- that is why the second and third bodies are very ornate, reflecting a feeling of horror vacui. The facade is an allegory of the arrival of the Church of Christ to the New World. The first body of the two churches presents a double archivolt arch flanked by two plateresque baluster-columns and the statues of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In Acolman the spandrels of the doorway present medallions with the theme of the Annunciation, but in Yuriria these medallions have two cherubs in the guise of pre-Columbian eagles. In the second body, both facades have three niches containing the young Christ accompanied by two musician angels, and the columns are continued by four atlantean figures that carry baskets with fruits as an allusion of the offerings of the Indians to the Church as Thanksgiving. There is a choir window with a Renaissance trend in both churches, but in Acolman it is crowned with an Augustinian emblem, whereas in Yuriria there is an image of Saint Augustine, the founder of the Order. In Acolman, other than two coats of arms, the rest of the facade is flat, but in Yuriria, at each side of the window, there are designs that resemble large flowers, formed by vegetal interlacing. At the center of the flowers, there are images of Chichimec warriors with their bows and arrows. The Christianized Tarascan town of Yuriria was sometimes attacked by Chichimec raiders, and the Tarascans used the monastery as a fortress to protect the population. The presence of Chichimec figures in the facade probably seeks to express the symbolic desire that they would be someday evangelized and integrated to the colonial Christian community. In the facade they are seen to share the sacred "Terrestrial paradise" founded by the Augustinians. It should be emphasized that the Indian vegetal motifs added in Yuriria, in spite of their crude carving, lend a touch of joy to the severe Renaissance-Plateresque style as employed at Acolman. | ||
