Exploring Colonial Mexico©

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caryatid on bearded head

Our previous page on San Miguel Mani focused on the early colonial murals of this well known Franciscan monastery, located in the Puuc region of Yucatán.

In addition to the main altarpiece, described in the earlier page, the church at Mani is also home to several outstanding side retablos*, in a variety of colonial styles, all gorgeously carved, painted and gilded - a collection that is unrivaled in Yucatán and a treat for the traveler and connoisseur.

Retablos 1. & 3.

An exceptional pair of Renaissance style altarpieces are the stars of the show. Crafted in the late 1600s by an unknown provincial artist, whom we may call the "Master of Mani", these gilded retablos, while simple in form, display a vigor and freshness that is the equal of any Mexican work of the period.
Both take the form of a triumphal arch, surmounted by a rounded pediment. The lower compartments are divided by charming caryatid columns: the elongated figures of young maidens holding baskets of hearts?, crowned by feathered capitals and standing on bearded heads (top).

The star of the show (Retablo 1) is the recently restored altarpiece on the south side of the nave dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, a favorite Franciscan saint. Surrounding his statue in the center, a series of detailed reliefs depicting didactic and miraculous incidents from his life, each a tightly structured tableau of realistic figures with expressive faces. In the pediment, St. Anthony receives a priest's stole from the hands of the Virgin, while the base relief relates the famous miracle of the donkey kneeling before the Holy Sacrament. On the left, the saint preaches to the fishes. A remarkable and imaginative work of art.

Its more expansive companion piece, across the nave on the north side, displays the Passion of Christ (Retablo 3). In the pediment, a dramatic relief shows Faith, Hope and Charity gathered around the draped cross, holding the Instruments of the Passion. Intervening spaces are filled with cherubs and foliated carving.

Retablos 4 & 5

A second pair of side retablos, although less richly detailed and painted dark red, may be the earliest in the church, framed with Plateresque style "candelabra" columns. The altarpiece of Santa Lucia, on the north side of the nave, houses a statue of the saint whose strangely bloodshot eyes recall her reputation as a healer of the blind. Opposite, the Virgin of Light stands on a cloud of cherub heads, holding a diminutive Christ Child.

Retablo 2. A fifth retablo features twisted spiral columns, intricately carved and gilded, typical of the "Solomonic" style of the later 1600s.

Retablo 6. One retablo of even later date presents a more ornate profile, fashioned in the more exuberant "Churrigueresque" style with its trademark estípite pilasters and rococo flourishes, albeit in a sober provincial manner in keeping with Yucatecan tradition.

Today, when the church doors are opened, these beautiful altarpieces, long preserved in the gloom of the church and now restored, come dramatically to life, glowing again in the light.

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SOURCES AND LINKS

text ©2007 by Richard D. Perry. Based on personal observation and material previously published in El Diario de Yucatan

photographs courtesy of Robert Hansen. Thank you Bob.

*Some of these retablos were restored during a wide-ranging and model restoration project at Mani. This was carried out between 2001 and 2003 under the joint sponsorship of the Centro INAH Yucatán, directed by Fernando Garcés Fierros, and the organization Adopte una Obra de Arte SA. under the energetic leadership of Elba Villareal Rodríguez de García.

Look for our forthcoming page on the related retablos of Valladolid-Sisal

for more on Mani and colonial Yucatan, consult the new edition of our guidebook Maya Missions available through this web site or from Amate Books

see our other pages on the Colorful Retablos of Yucatán

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