Exploring Colonial Mexico©Exploring Colonial Mexico©
The stern statue of Diego de Landa, (left) first bishop of Yucatán and infamous for his destruction of priceless Maya documents and artifacts, looks up from an adjacent plaza to his beloved monastery.
Dedicated to the Virgin of Izamal, the beloved patron saint of Yucatán, the rambling monastery is built atop an ancient pyramid in the heart of this ancient Mayan city, one of the four principal temples in a ceremonial center sacred to Itzamná, Lord of the Sky and principal deity of the Itzá Maya.
Girt by a vast arcaded atrium, the great 16th century monastery includes the massive church, several chapels and two spacious cloisters in the convento, where enigmatic early religious murals have recently been uncovered.
Treasures inside the church include the gilded baroque retablo, a handsome 20th century reproduction of an 18th century original, raised beneath the vaulted sanctuary at the east end.
There is also a unique colonial painting, recently restored, of Duns Scotus, (right) the medieval Franciscan theologian and champion of the dogma of the Immaculate conception of the Virgin. The "subtle doctor" is portrayed as a pilgrim, with wings, beside the "Woman of the Apocalypse," trampling on the heads of Lucifer and various Lutheran reformers.
The Virgin of Izamal
Behind the church sanctuary, which is covered by a handsome ribbed Gothic star vault, lies the elevated inner sanctum (camarín) of the Virgin of Izamal, where her sumptuously clothed and bejeweled image is often on display.
Brought from Guatemala by order of Bishop Landa in 1558, the carved wooden image of the Virgin immediately acquired a devoted following throughout Yucatán. Widely believed to have alleviated the frequent plagues that raged across the peninsula in colonial times, the Virgin and her cult burgeoned, with outpourings of money and rich offerings from the thankful citizens. Her shrine became the most popular pilgrimage site in southeastern Mexico, only declining after the 16th century image was destroyed by fire in 1829.
Declared the official patroness of Yucatán in the1970s, and benefiting from a papal visit, the Virgin has enjoyed a popular revival in recent years.
This stylized portrait of theVirgin of Izamal, painted in the ornate popular fashion of the17th century, hangs in the Pinacoteca Juan Gamboa Guzmán, Mérida, Yucatán.
2004 update
Restoration work on the camarín at Izamal, conducted under the auspices of the regional office of INAH and the organization Adopte una obra de arte, has recently been completed. This included renovation of the painted murals and friezes that formerly adorned the chamber.
A major project involved the re-creation of the lost retablo of the Virgin of Izamal in the camarín. >
The red and gold cedar retablo or altar screen was originally constructed in the 1700s to house and display the image of the Virgin, and subsequently destroyed in the1829 fire. It was framed in late baroque estípite fashion and featured 18 paintings illustrating episodes from the life of the Virgin Mary. These painted panels have been faithfully reproduced in the style of the period and recently re-installed in the camarín.
