Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Mexico's Fortress Monasteries,
a series.
1.
Located in the state of Hidalgo some 100 kms northeast of Mexico City and about 50 kms east of the pyramids at Teotihuacan, this 16th century Franciscan monastery is spectacularly sited on a huge former pyramid dedicated to the chief Aztec deity Huitzilopochtli and designated the "Island of White Rock."
Flights of ancient, worn stone steps climb steeply to the 16th century church and convento, which replaced the former temple and were built from the cut limestone masonry of the demolished structure.
The Tepeapulco monastery, dedicated to St. Francis, is best known as the place where during the years 1558-1560 fray Bernardino de Sahagún researched his Primeros Memoriales, a detailed account of ancient Mexican culture and practices, based on interviews with an elite group of Aztec informants.
The Stone Crosses
Noted for its beautifully carved church doorway and the exquisite early murals contained within its walls, Tepeapulco is one of the finest early Mexican "fortress" monasteries. Many colonial objects as well as pre-hispanic artifacts from local sites are on permanent view in the convento museum.
Among its many colonial treasures is an extraordinary collection of limestone crosses, all believed to date from the 1500s. Most of these monolithic crosses are complex sculptural pieces, prominently carved with the Instruments of Christ's Passion.
- The largest, most skilfully rendered and generously detailed cross is mounted on the west front beside the doorway (#1). It is profusely sculpted with projecting items in high relief that include a large crown of thorns at the crossing, the Five Wounds - a Franciscan emblem - on the main shaft, and at the foot, a grinning skull.
- A second cross hangs in the apse of the church (#2). This slender cross is again carved with numerous symbols of the Passion, although in lower relief and in a more popular style. The most interesting feature here is the Crucifixion scene below the crossing, in which the body of Christ is flanked by what appear to be miniature Roman soldiers in an almost Romanesque style.
- The third cross (#3) is now placed in a niche along the arcade, or porteria that fronts the convento. The details of this battered cross are weathered by time and the elements, suggesting that it was the original atrium cross of the monastery, which would have been set up in the open in front of the monastery for many years. Although with fewer sculptural details, this cross also features a prominent crucifixion tableau beneath the crossing. showing the thieves Dimas and Gestas crucified alongside Christ.
In addition to these freestanding examples, a number of other relief crosses are carved in the ornamental stone archways and friezes. Tepeapulco is also home to several monolithic stone fonts, some with carved ornament and rims.
|
|
|
||
The crosses at Tepeapulco are not limited to carved stone examples.
Several other representations of crosses appear in the rich sequences of 16th century murals that adorn both church and convento.
The selection below shows decorative (1) and narrative examples that include the grand Crucifixion scene in the upper cloister (2) a depiction of the Holy Family with draped crosses (detail) in the sacristy - formerly the Sala de Profundis (3) and a rare, beautifully rendered fresco of The Mass of St Gregory (4) also in the upper cloister.
Note: the coiled Franciscan cord above many of these murals is part of a frieze, added later.
|
|
|
|
|
Text and cross illustrations ©1990 & 2004 by Richard D. Perry. (Reproduction permitted with acknowledgment.)
Based in part on information in the booklet Tepeapulco, by José Gorbea Trueba (INAH. Direccion de Monumentos Coloniales. 1957)
For more on
the 16th century monasteries of Central Mexico, including Tepeapulco
and its neighbors, consult our guidebook Mexico's Fortress Monasteries
