Santo Domingo (San Cristobal de las Casas)

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Templo de Santo Domingo

San Cristobal (91) .JPG

Patronage : Dominic
Address: San Cristobal de las Casas,
Chiapas, Mexico

Coordinates: 16 ° 44 ′ 29.9 "  N , 92 ° 38 ′ 14.2"  W.

The church of Santo Domingo and the associated former Dominican monastery of San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas is consecrated to St. Dominic and is considered a highlight of the colonial baroque in Mexico and Latin America . Its stucco facade is particularly famous .

There is a well-known Mexican handicraft market in front of the church these days .

history

The foundation stone for the Dominican monastery and the church was laid by the Bishop of Guatemala , Francisco Marroquín, on January 19, 1547. The originally modest building made of adobe bricks was completed in 1551.

The building received its present form in the 17th century and, according to Father Joaquín Antonio de Villalobos, was completed in 1698; he now described the convent as "magnificent" and the church as "one of the largest in the city".

In the earthquake of 1902, the church was damaged and had to be closed; the Capilla del Rosario ( Rosary Chapel ) was particularly hard hit . In 1975 the facade and the interior were restored .

At the beginning of the second millennium, the facade underwent a thorough examination and further restoration, which was completed in 2006. Despite lively polemics , the work of the restorers was rewarded in 2006 by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) with the Premio Francisco de la Maza as the best work in an architectural restoration.

description

facade

Detail view of the facade

The church is above a staircase. The richly ornamented facade is considered the high point of the Baroque in Central America and is sometimes compared to some buildings in Oaxaca and Antigua Guatemala . Their color design has been changed several times and in some cases considerably over the centuries; During the restoration, which was completed in 2006, an attempt was made to create a color version that roughly corresponds to the original baroque idea and emphasizes the fine details and reliefs of the facade in the sense of a chiaroscuro .

The structure of the facade is reminiscent of an altar and is divided into three parts both vertically and horizontally. It is structured by richly decorated, twisted “Solomonic” columns, volutes and curved architraves , with niches, statues and reliefs in between. The decoration shows in detail mainly vegetable, but also abstract shapes and symbols such as. B. small crosses . In the middle part of the facade, above the arched portal and a rectangular window, there is a figure of Saint Dominic and above it the coat of arms of the House of Asturias , flanked by two double-headed crowned eagles (heraldic animal of the Habsburgs ). Between angels , sirens and other mythical figures, to the right and left in the niches, one can see statues of various saints, who are probably Petrus Martyr and Hyacinth of Poland , as well as Vincent Ferrer , Thomas Aquinas , Caterina of Siena , Rosa of Lima , Catharina Martyr and a representation of Daniel with the lions . The top is a tondo held by angels with the Jesus monogram IHS (= “Jesus Christ, the Redeemer”), between the two bell towers.

inner space

one of the right side altars

The church is shaped like a Latin cross , but the south transept with the Capilla del Rosario is significantly longer than the north. Santo Domingo is the only church in San Cristóbal with a barrel vault ; the crossing is vaulted by a simple semi- dome.

The walls of the nave are completely covered with a uniform decor made of carved and gilded wood, which gives the interior the character of a precious holy shrine. In the paneling decorated with tendrils, devotional images and altars are worked into several round arches, in whose niches various figures of saints stand. The richly carved and gilded pulpit in the style of the Spanish Baroque is considered particularly successful .

In the current state of the building, the completely plain and almost unfinished apse and the left transept form a strong contrast to the magnificent character of the nave; the simple high altar is neoclassical . The right transept with the Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel) is adorned with three valuable Baroque altars, including the Altar of the Holy Trinity , which is considered one of the best works of baroque art carving in Mexico.

In the former convent building there are exhibitions on Oaxaca's history before the Spanish colonization, with archaeological finds. The courtyard of the monastery now serves as a kind of botanical garden with numerous native plants.

  • inside view

  • the baroque pulpit

  • Altar of the Capilla del Rosario

  • Side altar and view of the pulpit and left transept

  • Statue and detail of the facade

  • Detail of the facade

  • Side entrance

Literature (spanish)

  • Juan Benito Artigas H .: “San Cristóbal de las Casas y sus alrededores, esbozo de su arquitectura”, in: San Cristóbal de las Casas y sus alrededores, vol. II , Patronato Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 1984
  • Juan Benito Artigas H .: La arquitectura de San Cristóbal de las Casas , Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas, Mexico, 1991
  • Juan Benito Artigas H .: Chiapas Monumental (29 monographs), Universidad de Granada, Granada, España, 1997
  • Andrés Aubry: San Cristóbal de las Casas. Su historia urbana, demográfica y monumental, 1528–1990 , Inaremac, San Cristóbal de las Casas, 1990.
  • Sidney David Markman: Arquitectura y urbanización en el Chiapas colonial (Spanish translation by Annabella Muñoa Rincón), Gobierno del Estado de Chiapas / Consejo Estatal para el Fomento de la Investigación y Difusión de la Cultu-ra / dif-Chiapas / Instituto Chiapaneco de Cultura, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 1993
  • Haydee Orea Magaña: “La fachada barroca del templo de Santo Domingo de San Cristóbal de las Casas (México) y su reintegración pictórica: una intervención polémica”, in: Intervención - Revista Internacional de Conservacion, Restauracion y Museologia , Vol. 5, No. 9, January to June 2014, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia México, pp. 34–42, “online” , viewed on May 25, 2019

Web links

Commons : Santo Domingo in San Cristobal de las Casas  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
  • "Iglesia Ex convento de Santo Domingo" of San Cristóbal de las Casas, on the website of the city council of "San Cristóbal de las Casas" , seen on May 25, 2019 (Spanish; with virtual tour)
  • "Templo de Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas", on: "México travel club" , as seen on May 25, 2019
  • "Templo y Exconvento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán" by San Cristóbal de las Casas, on "turismochiapas.gob.mx" , as seen on May 25, 2019

Individual notes

  1. ↑ a b "Iglesia Ex convento de Santo Domingo" of San Cristóbal de las Casas, on the website of the city administration of "San Cristóbal de las Casas" , seen on May 25, 2019 (Spanish; with virtual tour!)
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j "Templo de Santo Domingo, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas", on: "mexicotravelclub.com" , as seen on May 25, 2019
  3. ↑ a b c d "Templo y Exconvento de Santo Domingo de Guzmán" from San Cristóbal de las Casas, on "turismochiapas.gob.mx" , seen on May 25, 2019
  4. ↑ Note 1 in: Haydee Orea Magaña: "La fachada barroca del templo de Santo Domingo de San Cristóbal de las Casas (México) y su reintegración pictórica: una intervención polémica", in: Intervención - Revista Internacional de Conservacion, Restauracion y Museologia , Vol. 5, No. 9, January to June 2014, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia México, pp. 34–42, “online” , viewed on May 25, 2019
  5. ^ "Iglesia y ex Convento de Santo Domingo" from San Cristóbal de las Casas, on "travelbymexico.com" , seen on May 18, 2019
  6. ↑ a b c Haydee Orea Magaña: “La fachada barroca del templo de Santo Domingo de San Cristóbal de las Casas (México) y su reintegración pictórica: una intervención polémica”, in: Intervención - Revista Internacional de Conservacion, Restauracion y Museologia , vol . 5, No. 9, January to June 2014, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia México, pp. 34–42, “online” , viewed on May 25, 2019
  7. ↑ a b c Haydee Orea Magaña: "La fachada barroca del templo de Santo Domingo de San Cristóbal de las Casas (México) ...", in: Intervención ..., vol. 5, No. 9, January to June 2014, ..., pp. 34–42, here: p. 34 Note 2
  8. ↑ The apparently unfinished condition of the apse and the left transept could be traced back to the destruction caused by the earthquake of 1902, but the sources currently available do not provide any more detailed information about this (author's note, Marie Adelaide).
  9. ↑ or cloister (?; Translator's note)
  10. ↑ Brief information about "Templo de Santo Domingo, San Cristobal de las Casas", on "inspirock.com" , seen on May 25, 2019 (English)