Exploring Colonial Mexico©

The Espadaña Press Web site

Treasure cities of the barroco poblano

©2003 Felipe Falcón

The hilltop monastery of San Francisco in Atlixco, a charming town situated on the lower slopes of the volcano Popocatepetl, was founded in 1538 by the Franciscan missionary fray Toribio de Benavente, known as Motolinia. The elevated location, perched on the rocky Cerro de San Miguel, was chosen partly to avoid the mosquitos of the humid valley below, but also to keep the Indian converts apart from the baleful influence of the Spanish colonists below. The fortress-like aspect of the monastery only helped to reinforce this separateness. The mudéjar facade of the church was altered in the 1700s with the addition of baroque spiral columns on each side of the doorway and the ocular window overhead.

The Main Altarpiece
But the chief addition to the church was its imposing early 18th century gilded main retablo, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin. It has recently been cleaned and restored, and rests in the apse beneath the original Gothic style rib vault. For many years it was believed to have come originally from the church of Carmen in the lower town. According to recent research, this has proved not to be the case, although it is a poor fit for the San Francisco apse, suggesting its design for a prior location.
Although the designer is not known, he seems likely to have been a Spaniard, or at least a leading Pueblan retablista. The altarpiece is unusual in that it is markedly Spanish in format, with a marked Italianate influence. In fact, the format is similar, although less ornate, to the seminal main retablo of San Esteban de Salamanca, by the well known Spanish architect and designer José de Churriguera. Whether by design or influence, it is also related to other, more popular baroque church fronts in Atlixco, notably the Third Order chapel.
The essentially sober design consists of a single main tier, set above a high predella and crowned by a semicircular pediment. The principal tier is divided vertically by pairs of giant spiral columns, deftly carved with vines and foliage and headed with complex composite capitals - all richly painted and gilded. A coffered semicircular frieze borders the pediment, which also features gilded pilasters carved with fruit and floral motifs.

The Paintings
The other main attraction of the retablo is its nine canvases depicting the Life of the Virgin, painted by the well known Mexican artist Francisco Martínez (active 1718 -1757) and dated 1732 by an inscription. A prolific painter, gilder, appraiser and theatrical designer, Martínez is best known for gilding the Retablo de Los Reyes in the Mexico City cathedral (1743). Although several of his numerous paintings have survived - some are in the Mexico City cathedral and at least three in the Figge Art Museum (Davenport, Iowa), the Atlixco retablo contains his only known complete and intact cycle of retablo paintings. It is also quite possible that Martinez decorated and gilded the retablo.

Considered a competent if uninspiring artist, Martinez' figures seem rather wooden and lack the sensuous lines and facial expressiveness associated with the more facile Miguel Cabrera who followed him. He is nevertheless noted for his strong draftmanship and assertive compositions in the late 17th century baroque tradition.

The principal canvases of the altarpiece are of different sizes and shapes, and have been newly cleaned and restored (in 2000). The iconography glorifies the life of the Virgin, proceeding from the predella (base level) to the crowning pediment. The small base panels, as restored, portray the Virgin as a girl, praying on the right and reading, under the gaze of her father, at left. The four lateral canvases between the columns represent, on the left, the Presentation at the Temple (lower) and the Marriage of Mary (above). At right are the Nativity of the Virgin (lower); and the Annunciation above it (shown right).

The crowning rectangular painting at the center of the upper pediment portrays the Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin by the Holy Trinity (shown left). This is flanked by two triangular panels featuring The Nativity of Jesus and The Visitation.

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