Spanish Nativity

Two More Central California Missions

Today I visited Mission Santa Inés and Mission La Purisima.  Santa Inés was a pleasant surprise. One of the few missions where the church remained staffed and in use even after the end of the mission system, Santa Inés still serves as a parish church and it is obvious that it has been maintained and improved over the years, and much of the original mission art and architecture has either been preserved or restored in recent years.

The surprising part was its large collection of 17th and 18th century Spanish Colonial art: the walls in the museum section were liberally decorated with religious paintings, mostly from Mexico, of very high quality. Unfortunately, there was no information about how or when they arrived at the mission, but they were at least identified.

Here we did find some Nativity art.  First of all, we see this little Nativity group, which is on a shelf on the wall in the church.  It was described as 17th century Mexican and is in beautiful condition. 

My apologies for the somewhat murky photos.  Light in the church was poor and use of the flash was not permitted.  In addition, all of the works are high up on the wall, probably for security reasons, which also necessitated the installation of security cameras everywhere (missions have lost many works to theft over the years).

Also in the church were two fine paintings of the Adoration of the Shepherds, above, and the Flight Into Egypt.  They are from 17th century Mexico, the school of Baltasare Echave Orio.

Here's a glimpse of the main altar, featuring Santa Inés (St. Agnes).

Like most of the Missions, Santa Ines owes its preservation to a dedicated enthusiast in the 20th century. While it had continued to operate as a church, much of it was very run down.  Several of its 20th century priests were involved in restoring it, and in one case, the neice of one of the pastors arrived to spend a month and ended staying for 20 years, restoring vestments and art work.  In addition, that indefatigable group, the Daughters of the Golden West, contributed money and time to this mission, as to most of the others.

Quite different is MIssion La Purísima, about 20 miles away.  This was restored as a CCC project in the 1930s and is now a state park.  It's a great living history exhibit and really gives visitors a feel for the busy daily life of a large mission, which was really more like a small, enclosed town than anything else.  The church has also been restored, although is not used as anything other than an exhibit.  It was quite large, as you can see from this photo.

 

Finally, a glimpse of something that may or may not be a Nativity figure. This beautifully polychromed figure was locked in a case on the wall.  I thought it was possible that he was a Niño that had lost his "atributos,"  that is, the identifying symbols, such as a globe or a bird in one hand, that would make it possible to identify him more specifically.  But here he is, in any case, an unknown possible Niño.

 

Three Missions

The three missions on today's trip gave three views of the reality of mission life. First of all, we have Mission Soledad (Nuestra Sra de la Soledad) near the town of that name, which is otherwise known for its big state prison. 

Soledad is aptly named: it is by itself on a windy hillside in a dry area that is, paradoxically, swept by floods during the rainy season, when all the arroyos suddenly surge with water.  THe mission was never very successful and was beset by hardships; its final priest, Fr. Sarria, died of starvation. He collapsed while saying mass and his body was carried by the Indians 45 miles to MIssion San Antonio for burial.

But the chapel has been beautifully restored and the mission gift shop now does a lively trade and seems to be somewhat of a center for local visitors.  The olive grove is being restored and the mission now produces and sells its own olive oil.

San Antonio was just the reverse. Located on the Hunter ligget military reservation, much of it has been restored, revealing the huge and flourishing community that it once was.  THere are two large wings, one of which has been rebuilt, giving you an idea of the scope and scale of the friars' activities. The museum has curiousities ranging from local archeological finds to some of the early instruments used at the mission.

The chapel - where Fr. Sarria is buried - is still in use as a parish church. It has been well restored.  You enter from the cloister on the side, where there are huge rose gardens and a fruit and nut orchard.

Finally, Mission San Miguel...or what remains of it. The Mission was seriously damaged in an earthquake in 2003.  Most of the outbuildings are restored but the church, unfortunately, is not open.  They hope to reopen this September. The mission is still in use by the Franciscans.

The only Nativity related thing I found for you is this small modern bas relief embedded in the wall at Mission San Antonio.  The style of painting around it is part of the recreation of the style employed at the mission in the 18th century.

Back to the Missions

Once again I am following the California Mission trail, this time starting where I left off – Mission Carmel – and working south through the Central California missions.

 

The last time I visited Mission Carmel, I arrived minutes before closing and had to do a high-speed running tour, keeping one step ahead of the guards who were shutting off the lights behind me. This visit was more leisurely and I actually had time to read the information.

As far as Nativity figures, I showed blog readers the 18th – 19th century Neapolitan presepio that had been a gift to the Mission a couple of decades ago, intended to replace one that was known to have been in its possession in the 18th and early 19th centuries but disappeared somewhere along the line.

Other than that, the mission is full of Niños and St. Josephs and Virgins.  One of the most interesting is Nuestra Sra de Belén, a large 18th century Virgin holding the Child. At one time, it belonged to the Archbishop of Mexico City, who gave it to Fr. Junipero Serra, the founder of this mission and many of the other missions, to accompany him on his travels.  The Archbishop renamed her “La Conquistadora,”  Our Lady the Conqueror.  In the photo, you will see La Conquistadora behind another smaller figure of the Virgin for some reason placed in this location.

Mission Carmel is the third mission founded, and the figure was permanently installed here and has remained at Mission Carmel (or, when the Mission was abandoned, at a nearby church) since its founding.  There were many Portuguese sailors and fishermen living in the area and they were particularly devoted to her and gave her the punched silver crown that she wears. Her clothing was replaced in the 1950s, but the figure is the original, probably made in Mexico, and has the original painting and finish.  She reminded me very much of the 18th century Spanish-made figure of Our Lady of Carmel that I saw in the chapel at Ponferrada when I was working as an hospitalera there last year.

When Pope John Paul II visited Mission Carmel, officially known as Mission San Carlos Borromeo, for the beatification of Fr Junípero Serra in 1987, he prayed before La Conquistadora.

The Mission is very beautiful and is beautifully maintained. On one side is the old churchyard, where the Mission Indians were buried in these abalone-shell decorated graves.  The indefatigable Harry Downie, a 20th century woodworker who nearly singlehandedly restored most of the missions, is also buried there.  Fr Serra is buried in the church, in front of the altar.

Spanish Colonial Work at the Denver Art Museum

I spent most of last week in Denver, where I finally had the chance to see the Denver Art Museum’s truly fine collection of Spanish Colonial Art.  It encompasses art from the 16th century through modern work done by “santeros” in New Mexico.  I didn’t see any Nativity figures, although there was certainly much statuary in general and some Nativity-themed paintings. The work comes from Mexico, Quito, Cuzco, and other great colonial cities famous for their workshops.  As we all know, the famous figures displayed every year at the monastery known as Las Carboneras in Madrid are from Quito, and Quito was particularly well-known for its carving and sculpture.

These two paintings depict the Adoration of the Shepherds. The upper work was painted in Mexico in the 17th century by Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez, and the second is an 18th century painting from Potosi, Bolivia, by Gaspar Miguel de Berrio. The collection is beautifully curated and displayed. You can get a glimpse of other things in their collection at the museum’s website.

I checked out Denver’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, located in downtown Denver not too far from the Statehouse. The building was completed in 1911 and consecrated in 1921 and has spectacular stained glass windows.  They were created in Munich, Germany by F.X. Zettler at the Royal Bavarian Art Institute, which was destroyed in the bombing during WW II.  I found a Nativity scene, but by far the most spectacular window was this one of the Immaculate Conception.

Eucharistic Niños

Today is the day on which the Feast of Corpus Christi is celebrated in the US (yes, it should have been last Thursday, and I hope that someday it will be restored to its proper day).  In honor of the feast, we had a procession and also an interesting exhibit on Eucharistic miracles. The exhibit is composed of a series of 140 large posters or panels, each one dedicated to a Eucharistic miracle. The photos are grouped geographically. Spain, of course, has a huge number of miracles, as does Italy.

 

I saw several that featured Niños, or the Virgin with the Child, in some connection with the Eucharist. The one I photographed is a miracle that occurred in Eten, Peru in 1649, when a friar and other people saw the Child Jesus and three brilliant white hearts (symbolizing the Trinity) appear on a Host that was in a monstrance for Adoration.  In addition, the Child was wearing a purple tunic of the type worn by the local Indians, to symbolize His love for them.

You can find out more about this exhibit, entitled The Eucharistic Miracles of the World, by going to the website of the company that markets it, Eternal Life.  Our exhibit was purchased by one of our priests and parishioners, and he displays it here and elsewhere in the diocese.

I have had an enormous amount of translation work lately and haven't had the time or energy to post, so I hope Spanish Nativity enthusiasts haven't given up and gone away!  I hope to be able to return to more frequent posting now.  In the meantime, one last image of a Latin American Niño...

Guadalajara and Niños

The last few weeks have been occupied with trivia, ranging from my actual paying work (translation) to my garden, and I’ve rather fallen behind on the posts.  But I’m planning ahead: the last few days have been spent trying to get a wire transfer to Spain for the Congreso de la Federación Española de Belenistas which will be held in October, 2009, in the city of Guadalajara.  The bank in my small town doesn’t send many international wire transfers, and the process went slowly, although Miguel Ángel Martínez Fernández, the President of the Association, was extremely helpful. Perhaps the crowning glory in the episode was that the bank complained that the Swift number was wrong.  I investigated and found out that this was because the bank wanted to send it to Guadalajara MEXICO rather than Guadalajara SPAIN!  But I finally got it straightened out and all is well.

Guadalajara, Mexico is, of course, named after Guadalajara, Spain, which is a small city located 54 km (about 35 miles) to the northeast of Madrid.  Guadalajara (Spain!) has a website that can give you an idea of some of its places of historical interest and tourist attractions. I was there once several years ago but didn’t have much time to tour around, so I’m really looking forward to visiting the city.

 

Other than that, I have a couple of random photos of Niños forwarded to me by someone who knows of my interest. They are both photos by Gregor Kollmorgen, author of an article about Bamberg, Austria on the blog New Liturgical Movement. The article is full of great photos of what is clearly a fantastic town for Baroque churches and has one of interest to belenistas:  The Niño above is in the rococo Church of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (Vierzehnheiligen). He is seated on the edge of a replica of the Star that is in the center of the Nativity Grotto in Bethlehem. The star here is located in a crypt under the altar, and you can see through to the earth under the church, because the church is built on the site of a 15th century apparition of the Holy Child, accompanied by 14 other saints, to a shepherd.

There is also a Divine Child at the top of the altarpiece. In the original apparition, the Child had a red cross on his chest, which you can almost make out in the photo.  Read more about it on New Liturgical Movement!  The article is very interesting and the other photos are great.

Figuras de Cacharrería

Something not often discussed by belenistas are the figuras de cacharrería, the simple, roughly made little figures that for years were a staple of Christmas markets.  Cacharrería means pottery, and refers to the inexpensive daily use kitchen items, such as small drinking jugs or cups, made of low-fired clay and usually sold at markets.  Nativity figures were made of the same material, and often by the same people. They are usually not signed, although certain artisans in Murcia are particularly known for their figuras de cacharrería. Serious belenistas would certainly not scatter them into a scene containing figures, say, by Mayo or some other creator of artistic terra-cotta Nativity figures in the “estilo hebreo,”  but they have a lot of charm.    In this photo, we see a collection maintained by Sereno, a poster on the wonderful Foro de Belenismo.

I particularly like the little scenes, such as this Sueño de José (Joseph’s Dream), where the angel who tells Joseph to take the Child and His Mother and go into Egypt is shown dangling above Joseph, who is sleeping with his head on a bundle of his possessions and his hat lying beside him.  I bought this at a stall in the 2008 Feria de Navidad in Madrid.

 

Cristóbal Jiménez in Alcalá de Henares

Our great friend Cristóbal Jiménez , who is responsible for the wonderful program, Camino de Belén, just sent me these photos of his belén at home...

 

 

 

...and the belen in the hospital where he works....

Enjoy!

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La Vida Adulta de Jesús; The Adult Life of Jesus

Spanish Nativity artists focus on the Nativity, naturally, but many of them also turn their attention to other aspects of the life of Christ.  Some of these are what scholars refer to as the “hidden life,” that is, things of which we have no account in the Gospels but can only imagine, while others are accounts of miracles or deeds that are found in the Gospels.

A poster on the wonderful Foro de Belenismo was working on a project creating dioramas on the life of Jesus after the Infancy – in other words, as an adult. The poster asked for help, and a belenista from Zaragoza, a woman whose screen name is Suny, posted some wonderful photos she had taken of dioramas by an artist named Antoni Sans in Tarragona.  Then, to top it off, she posted another set of photos she had taken of the permanent exhibit of dioramas at the Monastery of Pedralbes in Barcelona. I have seen these and they are great.  Thanks to Suny for her great photos!

In this photo, we see Antoni Sans’ version of the Wedding at Cana, with the wine jugs set out awaiting the miracle.

In the next photo, we see Mary and the Disciples in the Upper Room, with the dove descending, from the diorama at Pedralbes.

Bear in mind that these figures are quite tiny, usually no more than 12 cm and often less.  Look at the detail and artistic composition of these scenes. Perhaps some of our belenistas on the American continent will think about creating something like this.  I’m including  a few more of Suny’s photos in the album below.

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La Roldana at the Getty Museum

All belenistas are familiar with the name of Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana, the 17th/18th century court sculptor. The daughter of the Sevilla sculptor Pedro Roldán, she was born in 1652. She married a young apprentice from her father’s workshop, Luis Antonio de los Arcos, and eventually moved to Madrid.  She was appointed a court sculptor by Carlos II in 1661, and continued in the position under Felipe V, dying in 1706. While the position gave her honor, it was not very lucrative, and just before her death she was forced to make a “declaración de pobreza,” basically a declaration of bankruptcy.  She created many large wooden figures, but belenistas are probably most familiar with her charming painted terracotta figures of the Holy Family, the Infancy of Christ and related subjects.  This photo, taken from a website on a 2007 exhibition of her work in Spain, shows the Child Jesus and St. John the Baptist as a child, playing and surrounded by cherubim.

Now her work is the subject of an exhibition at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Entitled La Roldana’s San Ginés: The Making of a Polychrome Sculpture, it examines one of her large works, a statue of San Gines de la Jara, probably created while she was court sculptor. Particularly interesting are the explanations of certain techniques common in Baroque Spanish sculpture:  estofado, which was the paint and scratch technique used to create the elaborate gold patterns on garments, and the encarnaciones, the painting of flesh-colored parts of the statue, such as the hands or face.

I hope to visit the exhibition on a trip to California later this year, but in the meantime, I found that the Getty’s web pages were almost as good as a visit.  They provide detailed information on the exhibition and the technical subjects under discussion. Don’t miss the excellent video that is on the exhibition website…if one picture is worth a thousand words, I can’t imagine how many words one well-made video is worth!