Valladolid Adventures Part 14: The Magnificent Retablos in the church at Convento de San Bernardino de Siena

 

The apse at the eastern end of the church's nave contains a magnificent altarpiece. The floor-to-ceiling structure, called the retablo mayor, has three columns of niches containing a total of nine sacred figures. Additionally, there are separate retablos on the apse's side walls, as well as on the walls further back in the nave. The retablo mayor was created in the 17th century and was described in a report in 1639 by Bachiller Francisco Cárdenas Valencia.

This posting will contain photos of the various retablos and will also provide some background on the figures and scenes depicted, including why they were important to the Franciscans. For more photos and information about other parts of the Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, see Parts 9-13. In Part 15, which follows this one, I will cover the cloister, where the friars lived and worked.

Center Column

San Bernardino de Siena, the Convento's patron saint. This statue is located at the bottom of the center column of niches. San Bernardino de Siena is known as the "Second Founder" of the Franciscan Order. For more on this important figure of Franciscan history, see Part 13. His niche is framed by two highly-decorated estipite pilasters (non-load-bearing columns), a feature of the Mexican Baroque style. The statue was mentioned in a report by Fraile Diego de Landa in 1556, barely four years after the Convento was founded in 1552.

A nearby sign states that the statue "is located in its original site in the main temple, the same one it has had since the founding of the monastery". The retablo we see today was crafted in the 17th century, 50 or more years after Fraile de Landa's report. Therefore, this statue probably occupied a niche in a main altar retablo that pre-dates the retablo mayor described in Bachiller Valencia's 1639 report. 

Articulated statue of Christ, located in the middle of the center column of the retablo.  The ankles, knees, shoulders, elbows, and wrists are all moveable. The intent is to create a life-like depiction of the crucifixion. This figure was created around the mid-17th century, about a hundred years after the San Bernardino statue was first described by Fraile de Landa. 

Articulated figures are common among artifacts created by pre-hispanic artisans. My friend Richard Perry, an expert on colonial Mexico, tells me that they were also common during Europe's Middle Ages, prior to the Conquest. However, like me, he has found few examples from Mexico's post-Conquest colonial period. The articulated statue above is the only one I have encountered in my 18 years of visiting colonial churches in Mexico. The only other articulated statues I have found were made in the 19th century. If anyone has an explanation for this mysterious historical gap, please leave a comment.

 A Statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe is at the top of the center column. The Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron of Mexico and its poor and indigenous people. She is also a patriotic symbol. Her image appeared on the banners of insurgents fighting for independence from Spain (1810-1821) and during the Mexican Revolution (1910-1917). The Virgen de Guadalupe is nearly always portrayed standing on a crescent moon, which is supported by a small cupid figure. Her body is always turned slightly to the right and entirely surrounded by flames, which represent a halo. She wears a cloak covered with stars.

Her image has several elements with both Catholic and pre-hispanic meanings, including the halo, the crescent moon, and the stars on her clothing. Because of this, and because she first appeared to an indigenous man as a dark-skinned, Nahuatl-speaking woman, she had great appeal to the native people. However, the Franciscans were deeply suspicous. They believed that her cult was a covert way to practice the old religion and resisted recognizing her legitimacy for a century. Given that early controversy, her statue was probably not displayed in the church prior to the mid-17th century. 

Left Column

San Isidro Labrador is displayed at the bottom left. St. Isidore the Farmworker was 

a humble day laborer on the farm of a rich landowner outside Madrid, Spain. According to a codex written a few years after he died, Isidro was born in 1079 and died in1172. I am a bit dubious of these dates because achieving the age of 93 in the Middle Ages would have been astonishing, particularly for an ordinary laborer. He was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. The statue above is in the style of sacred art that was popular in the mid-18th century.

Franciscans admire San Isidro Labrador because of his humble status, simple life, and dedication to his work and faith. All these qualities are central to the Franciscan code of behavior. Isidro's job involved plowing the fields but, because of his frequent absences, his fellow workers complained to Juan de Vergas, the landlord. According to the legend, the landlord found Isidro praying by a field, while angels did the plowing for him.  Given these circumstances, Juan de Vergas left him in peace. Isidro was venerated beginning in the 12th century, although he didn't gain sainthood until 400 years later. 

Christ at the Column occupies the niche above San Isidro. In this statue, Jesus embraces the column where he was beaten with whips prior to his crucifixion. San Pedro (the Apostle Peter) kneels before him. Also present, but not visible here, is a rooster. According to the legend of the crucifixion, Jesus had predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. The image symbolizes penitence and forgiveness.

Created in the 17th century, the statue was first mentioned in an inventory conducted in 1755.  In that year, the Franciscans turned over the Convento to the secular clergy of the local diocese. This "secularization" process happened repeatedly to Franciscan conventos in the Spanish Empire. This was part of the Bourbon Dynasty reforms enacted during the 18th century. The secularlizations were intended to weaken the power of the monastic orders and to make them more accountable to the Crown. 

Santa Teresa de Jesus stands in the upper left, above Christ at the Column. St. Teresa of Jesus is also known as Santa Terese de Avila, the place where she was born in 1515. She was a mystic and religious reformer who was a central figure during the Spanish Counter-Reformation. Her grandfather had been a Jew who was forced to convert and barely escaped the clutches of the Spanish Inquisition. Her father successfully assimilated into Christian society and became wealthy as a wool merchant. He raised Teresa as a pious Catholic and she entered the the Carmelite Order in 1534 at age 20.

Santa Teresa de Jesus was renowned for her spiritual experiences and visions. She came to feel that the Carmelite Order was too lax and vowed to found a reformed version of the Order. In this, she was advised and supported by a Franciscan named Pedro de Alcantara. During her work on this, Teresa had to overcome fierce resistance, much of it from her original Order. However, she eventually founded conventos all over Spain for both women and men. Teresa de Jesus died in 1582 and was canonized in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV. Her statue is considered relatively modern, since it dates to the late 19th or early 20th century.

Right Column

The niche containing San Juan Bautista is at the bottom of the right column. The wooden statue was carved in the style used in 18th century sacred art.  St. John the Baptist was a Jewish reformer and preacher who baptised Jesus. Although he was never a disciple of Jesus, San Juan Bautista is considered a precursor of Jesus. He is revered by the Franciscans because he lived in poverty and simplicity and believed in the importance of repentance. Also revering him are the Eastern Orothodox Christians, the Baha'i and Druze faiths, and the Muslims. 

John the Baptist may have been an actual historical figure. He was mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus only a few decades after John's baptism of Jesus. In his book, "Jewish Antiquities",  Josephus describes John as a virtuous and righteous man who called the Jews to repentance and baptism. He states that John's execution by the local ruler Herod Antipas was due to Herod's fear that John's influence with the people might lead to a rebellion. Josephus never mentions the biblical story that Herod's wife demanded that John's head be brought to her on a platter because of his denunciation of her marriage to Herod.

San Martin de Porres stands in the niche directly above San Juan Bautista. The statue was originally located in the Capilla de la Tercera Orden (Third Order Chapel - see Part 13). In 2002, it was moved to its present location in the retablo mayor. Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579 and died there in 1639. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a woman who was a freed African slave. This background limited Martin's prospects due to colonial Peru's strict racial laws. He tried to join the Dominican Order, but was only allowed to be a "donado" (volunteer) for menial tasks like sweeping.

Martin de Porres eventually became a full member of the Dominicans, but suffered from considerable prejudice from others in his Order because of his mixed-race background. He was eventually recognized for his humility, piety, and work with the the poor and sick.  Sometimes, he put them in the bed in his own room. He was associated with several miracles, including the ability to pass through locked doors. His devotion to simplicity and service to others is the reason why the Franciscans honored him here with a statue. The statue holds a broom to symbolize Martin de Porres's devotion to simple work.

Other Retablos in the Nave

The Retablo de San Antonio is on the right wall of the nave. It is positioned about half way between the apse and the entrance to the hall leading to the Capilla de la Tercera Orden. The wooden retablo and its statue of San Antonio holding the infant Jesus and a palm frond were carved during the first half of the 17th century. The retablo and its statue are an extraordinary example of Mexican Baroque. It has four spiraling Solomonic columns typical of that style. The spirals are represented as vines with fruit hanging off them. Nearly every inch of the retablo is covered with sacred scenes and other decorations.

San Antonio de Padua (1195-1231) was a contemporary of San Francisco de Asis (1181-1226), the Franciscan Order's founder. Antonio was known for his teaching skills and was assigned by Francisco to guide the studies of young members of the Order. He also taught at several Italian universities. However, preaching was his great gift. When he visited the court of Pope Gregory IX in 1228, the Pope was so impressed that he commissioned Anthony to produce a collection of his sermons. Gregory called Antonio the "Ark of the Testament". He died in 1231 and was canonized by Pope Gregory only a year later, in 1232. 

Detail from the Retablo de San Antonio. The panel, which is located above the statue, shows the "Miracle of the Resuscitation". The figures in the carved wooden panel all wear clothing typical of the 17th century. San Antonio is the haloed figure in the center, cradling the child while the mother and other figures look on.

The story behind the miracle is that a child named Tomas was found drowned in a bathtub by his mother. She immediately sought out Antonio for help, promising that she would make a donation of bread to the poor, in the amount of the weight of her child, if the saint would resuscitate him. Antonio succeeded and the mother kept her promise. It strikes me that this seems like a rather small price to pay for the act. But, maybe bread was expensive and she was poor, although she does wear rather sumptuous clothing in the carving.

The Retablo del Divino Redentor is located on the right side of the apse.  The Retablo of the Devine Redeemer is another fine example of 17th century Mexican Baroque. The four columns are highly decorated at their bases and capitals but are without Solomonic spirals. The top of the retablo has several carved panels showing the "Coronation of the Virgin Mary" as the Queen of Heaven. A statue of Jesus is in the niche, clothed only in an undergarment over his midsection. He raises his right hand in blessing and, in his left, he holds a staff topped by a small cross.

This completes Part 14 of my series on our Valladolid Adventures. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments, please include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim