| The upper cloister has a cycle of mural paintings probably inspired by Flemish engravings, and among these paintings is the Last Judgment. It is one of the favorite themes of the Augustinian friars and it has produced an impact in the mind and sensibility of the indigenous people. In the upper part, Christ sits in majesty with sword and scepter among the group of the Blessed. A Latin banner proclaims the damnation of sinners to eternal freedom while the dead struggle from their coffins. Underneath, against a black background, the naked white bodies of the damned suffer indescribable torments: demons with grasping claws and gaping jaws tie their victims to trees, break them on the wheel and toss them into a steaming cauldron. These images are inspired by the apocalyptic nightmarish vision that we will find also as a leitmotiv in other Augustinian places like Actopan, Cuitzeo and Xoxoteco. |
