Painted Churches of Oaxaca: Santa Ana Zegache

The town of Zegache is a short distance away from Ocotlán de Morelos, which itself is about a half-hour outside of Oaxaca City.  Along with the church of Santo Domingo in Ocotlán, discussed in my September 20 post, Santa Ana Zegache is a project of the Fundación Rodolfo Morales, which was begun by this internationally-known Oaxacan artist who dedicated himself to the renovation of Colonial era Oaxacan churches.

 Santa Ana was originally built in the 17th century by friars of the Dominican order, as was Santo Domingo, Ocotlan and the majority of churches in the area of Oaxaca.  Like most churches in Oaxaca it is built in the sturdy "earthquake baroque" style typical of the region (see April 16 post of this blog), as can be seen in the photo directly below. In this style of construction, the bell-towers are a part of the building, not a separate element, which adds structural stability.

Santa Ana Zegache, front façade

Santa Ana Zegache, bell-tower

The façade of Santa Ana is typical of the churches of Oaxaca in that it is divided into sections with decorative elements in each.  This style of construction is known as a retablo façade and was a Roman Catholic Counter Reformation element meant to mirror the retablo (altarpiece) within the church and remind viewers of the authority of the Church and its orthodox doctrine.

Santa Ana Zegache, façade

In the façade of Santa Ana Zegache there is only one statue, that of the church's patron saint, Santa Ana (Saint Anne) which is located in a niche toward the top.  Santa Ana was the mother of the Virgin Mary and is shown in her typical stance of reading a book and wearing her characteristic green cloak.

Santa Ana,  patron saint of Santa Ana Zegache

The vases of flowers seen on the façade below are typical Oaxacan decorative elements found in many churches.

Façade detail, Santa Ana Zegache

Altars:

Santa Ana Zegache is chock full of both altars and saints.  There are nine gilded baroque altarpieces in addition to the main altar.  As is customary, the main altar is dedicated to the patron saint, here Santa Ana, shown in the center of the second layer.  God the Father can be seen at the very top in the center. (the photos should enlarge when clicked)

Main Altar: Santa Ana Zegache church

Altar dedicated to Jesus (shown both as an adult and the Divine Child),  Santa Ana Zegache Church

Altar dedicated to St. Mary and St. Elizabeth, Santa Ana Zegache church

Saints:

As in all Mexican churches, there are many statues and images of saints in Santa Ana Zegache. Some of them have a special connection to the Dominican order whose church it had been, reinforcing  Dominican significance and identity in the eyes of the indigenous worshippers.   

Santa Ana  (St. Anne), the mother of the Virgin Mary, is shown in her standard iconography, in a green cape holding a book as she was depicted in the church façade.

Santa Ana, Santa Ana Zegache

Many of the saints in the church have some specific relationship to the Dominican order.
St. Peter of Verona (St. Peter Martyr), a 14th century Dominican martyr, was killed by an assassin hired by the Cathars, a heretical Christian group, through a blow to the head with a hatchet. If you look closely, you can see the hatchet lodged in the statue's head.

St. Peter of Verona, Santa Ana Zegache church

St. Catherine of Alexandria, an early Christian martyr (4th century C.E.) was a scholar who was tortured to death on a spiked breaking wheel.

St. Catherine of Alexandria, Santa Ana Zegache church

John the Baptist is shown both as a figure and as a severed head, as was his fate in
Biblical lore.

St. John the Baptist, Santa Ana Zegache

Head of St. John the Baptist, Santa Ana Zegache

The following photos are a few close-ups of figures seen on the altars shown above. This seated "reflective Jesus" was seen in front of the altar dedicated to Jesus and the Divine Child. This pose is one of the standard ways in which the Jesus of the Passion is depicted throughout Mexico. He is dressed in the purple robe placed on him in mockery by the Romans.

"Pensive Jesus", Santa Ana Zegache

Saints Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and St. Mary, mother of Jesus, are shown standing side-by-side above in front of an altar. 

Saint Elizabeth holding infant John the Baptist, Santa Ana Zegache

 The young Virgin Mary (St. Mary) holds the infant Jesus, whose identity is indicated by the cross that he holds in his right hand.  Both of these figures are somewhat unusual representations of these saints.

St. Mary with infant Jesus, Santa Ana Zegache church

San Judas Tadeo is a beloved throughout Mexico. He is the patron saint of desperate causes and is usually shown carrying an image of Jesus close to his chest.

San Judas Tadeo, Santa Ana Zegache church 

San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, is always shown with oxen to symbolize his work as a laborer.  He is popular in the rural agricultural areas of Oaxaca such as Zegache. 

San Isidro Labrador, Santa Ana Zegache church

The many saints in Santa Ana, Zegache are not there for ornamental purposes.  These figures played an important role in the early transmission of Christianity to the newly converted peoples of Colonial Mexico.  Over the years they became the center of the devotional and even economic lives of the people, sometimes in unexpected ways. This interesting piece of religious history will be discussed in-depth in my next post.

Painted Churches of Oaxaca: Santo Domingo de Ocotlan

The interiors and façades of many churches in Oaxaca are highly decorated and painted, but the term "painted church" is used to refer to a few of them, in particular.  In the 1990's Rodolfo Morales, an internationally-reknowned Oaxacan artist returned to Oaxaca and dedicated himself and his foundation, the Fundacion Rodolfo Morales, to the restoration of colonial churches in Oaxaca. His chief focus was the former Dominican church/convent in Ocotlan, but some smaller churches in the area, most notably Santa Ana Zegache a 17th century village church not far from Ocotlan, were a part of this work and will be discussed in a future post.

Ocotlan de Morelos is located about 22 miles outside of Oaxaca City and is a short taxi ride from there.  Ocotlan, is a Nahuatl word meaning "among the trees" and de Morelos, is in honor of a a Catholic priest who was a rebel leader in the Mexican War of 
Independence. The church is called Santo Domingo because it was founded by friars of the Dominican order.  

Front façade of Santo Domingo, Ocotlan, Oaxaca

Tower, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

The construction of a church/convent was begun as early as 1555 in Ocotlan, but for various reasons construction was stopped and not begun again until the 16th century; the Dominican friars remained there until 1885. The very sturdy-looking church is built in the "Oaxacan Baroque" style, which was discussed in my post of 4/16/13. On the top niche in the façade is a statue of St. Dominic (Santo Domingo), shown with his dog and his rosary, two symbols of the Dominican Order.

Santo Domingo, Ocotlan, Oaxaca

Front Altar, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

The church's interior has been exquisitely re-painted using a more or less monochromatic palette reminiscent of the black habit (clothing) of the Dominican Order. As you can see in this detail from the dome, the Virgin Mary, holding a small image of Jesus, is dressed in the characteristic Dominican black and white.

Santo Domingo, detail in dome showing Virgin Mary

Dome, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

Nave interior, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

The front altar of the church displays a number of saints,  including two Dominican saints (to the right) who wear the robes of the order.  Each religious order (Franciscan, Jesuit, Augustinian, Dominican and so on) displayed saints of their own order, in addition to the more general Christian saints, as a means of reinforcing their identity and authority.   

Dominican Saints, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

In Santo Domingo there is an obvious contrast between the monochromatic austerity of the main sanctuary and its two intimate, smaller side chapels.  The main sanctuary is the public space, for masses and communal celebrations. The chapels, both of which seemed to be very holy places for the people praying there, appear to be where the local people go for personal prayer and devotion.  Guide-books do not offer information about them and my own guide made a point of bringing me there.  Although the decoration of the main church is what Santo Domingo is best known for, the atmosphere of the chapels was what was truly amazing.    

Side Chapel, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

Side Chapel, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

The object in the white-draped sanctuary is a gold monstrance, the sunburst-shape vessel used to display the consecrated host, the piece of bread that is believed within the Catholic faith to become the body of Jesus during the Mass.  Adoration of the consecrated host is a major devotion throughout Latin America (and the rest of the Roman Catholic world as well).  However, in this chapel there seems to be something of a mystery about the object in the sanctuary. My guide told me that there had been something else there- something like a tree- that had been removed, he thought perhaps for repairs. He was unsure exactly had been there, but the sole framed picture on the wall of this chapel may offer some clues.

Possibly picture of object removed from chapel

This picture, if you look closely, is also of a monstrance, but one fused with indigenous elements.  The green that is woven around gold sunburst is a maize plant, and maize (corn) was a central deity throughout pre-hispanic Mesoamerica and is still highly significant in modern times.  Additionally, we have to remember that the Sun, itself, was a major component of pre-hispanic religions. The circle of childrens' heads also had a prehispanic significance.  Although there is no proof, it seems quite possible that the object in the picture may have been the  missing object that had been the focus of adoration in the chapel.  If so, it was an object that had a depth of meaning to the worshippers of Ocotlan, the majority of whom are of Zapotec Indian origins and for whom the symbols, such as the maize plant, would have tremendous significance. 

  

 The second chapel in Santo Domingo Ocotlan is one dedicated to the Holy Child and it 

also has its own sense of mystery with an atmosphere quite different from the austere majesty of the main sanctuary. 

Chapel of the Holy Child, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan

Detail of altar, Chapel of the Holy Child, Santo Domingo, Ocotlan