CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDO^VMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library NA 750.L13 The picturesque architecture of Mexico / 3 I924"0i5 698 859 Cornell University Library 'to h_ The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924015698859 Holy W e l l — G uadalupe 3T J^c/yJaSeaume "Siy^m (^oof^S^ap/p o: INDEX FRONTISPIECE Holy Well— Guadalupe 2 3 4 5 6 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 CUERNAVACA Palace of Cortez Patio — Post Office Patio — Post Office Patio — Post Office Street Shrine Chapel of Tercer — Order of San Francisco Chapel of Tercer — Order of San Francisco 8 Cathedral of San Francisco 9 Chapel of Tercer — Order of San Francisco 10 Private Courtyard 1 1 Private Courtyard 12 Street Corner 13 Church of Guadalupe 14 Gallery in Patio 15 Street Scene CITY OF MEXICO Church of Vera Cruz 25 Sagrario Metropolitan a 26 Dome 27 Church of Santisima Trinidad 28 Church — 29 Sta. Teresa la Antigua 30 Church — 31 Sta. Teresa la Antigua 32 Dome 33 Tower — 34 Church of La Concepcion 35 Tower — La Trinidad 35A PUEBLA Main Portal — San Francisco 43 Detail — San Francisco 44 Detail — San Francisco — 45 Polychrome Tiles 46 Balcony — Private House Balcony — Private House 47 Facade — Private House 48 Church of Loreto QUERETARO Church of San Fernando Baptistry Side Door of Sagrario Church of la Profesa Campanile — Polychrome Tiles Portal Doorway — Colegio de la Paz Tiled House Ancient Church in Environs Holy Well — Guadalupe Main Portal — Sagrario Convent Chapel Church of El Carmen Public Fountain Stone Bench — Old Alameda Chapel of San Sebastian de Aparicio Main Portal — La Compania Chapel Facade — San Felipe Neri 56 Facade — Santo Domingo 57 Tower — Santo Domingo Tower — Santa Rosa 58 Street Scene — 59 Dome of Cathedral 60 Palace of the Marquis Villa^ 61 DEL ViLLAR DELLA AgUILA 62 Fountain — Federal Palace Private Patio Grand Court — Federal Palace Convent of Santa Clara Gallery — Private House Church — Lateral Facade Convent Entrance Flying Buttress — Parish Church 63 Cathedral 64 Capilla del Hospital ACAMBARO 65 Detail — Capilla del Hospital 66 Parish Church GUANAJUATO 67 Main Portal of La Parrochia 68 Gateway of La Parrochia 69 Facade — San Diego MORELIA 70 Towers of Cathedral 86 71 Tower of Cathedral 87 11 Transept of Cathedral 88 73 Dome of Cathedral 74 Lateral Court and 89 Bishop's Palace 90 75 Facade — Bishop's Palace 91 76 Private House 92 77 Municipal Palace 93 78 View through Portal- Municipal Palace 94 79 Calle Principal 95 80 Church of La Compania 96 81 Gateway to Cathedral Yard 97 82 "PoRTALEs" — Calle Principal 83 Street Fountain 98 84 Church of El Carmen 99 85 Detail — Church of El Carmen OAXACA 100 Balcony and Entrance — 107 Private House 108 101 Portales — Village near Oaxaca no 102 Courtyard (Church) Entrance 111 103 Private House 104 Corner Fountain 112 105 Buttress — Bishop's Palace 113 106 Window Grille — Residence Lantern — Cathedral Tower Main Portal — San Pedro Lambrequin over Door — Barracks Gateway to Parish House Facade — Private House Corner Fountain Convent of San Diego Plazuela — Convent of San Diego Private House Court — Private House Side Doorway — San Jose Aqueduct — Alameda de San Pedro "Portales" — Calle Principal View from Roof — Hotel Osseguera Facade — Parish Church Gateway to Churchyard Fountain and Door of La Dolores Lateral Buttresses — Cathedral Facade — Parish Church Country Church near Oaxaca 109 Circular Arcade — Market 114 Church of El Carmen CELAYA 1 1 5 Main Portal — El Carmen 1 1 6 Side Portal — El Carmen 1 1 7 Cathedral SAN LUIS POTOSI 118 Church of El Carmen i I THE PICTURESQUE ARCHITECTURE OF MEXICO T IS strange that the Architectural treasures of Mexico, a country so accessible to the American tourist, should be so little known. Comforts for the traveller are not yet to be expected in the same degree as prevails in Europe; yet the continual and delightful surprises which lie in wait for the observer offer him a rich reward for such sacrifices of his personal convenience as he may be called upon to make. Picturesqueness, in the literal meaning of the term, is the quality which impresses one first, last and always. Mexico is essentially a painter's country. Under its vivid sunlight landscape, costumes and architecture sparkle with a freshness that is exhilarating. It is a coun- try of sharp and stimulating contrasts. Its landscape varies from the densest tangle of tropi- cal verdure to the gray sterility of the sandy desert dotted only by the thorny cactus and reaching to a haze of snow capped mountains in the distance. Its population is mixed, em- bracing a wide range of types from the primitive, half naked Indian, the descendant of the original possessor of the land, to the polished scion of the conquering race, graceful and courte- ous, in manner and aspect redolent of the Continental capitals, in which he is as much at home as in his own Hacienda. These types mingle and jostle each other in the splendid ave- nues of the Capital, in the promenades of the Alameda, and the lovely gardens at the base of Chapultepec. Here the silk hat and correctly cut black coat of the dandy make the scarlet serape and wide-brimmed, cone-crowned sombrero of the peon all the more startling. To the wondering gaze of the observer from the North it is like nothing so much as a scene from some light, very light opera ; the movement, color, grace, and the ever present music making for an air of strange but delightful unreality. Round-eyed little soldiers and black-cloaked priests pass to and fro interminably. And as one watches the moving drama the conclusion is forced upon one that these latter, seemingly supernumeraries, have really the active parts. For the Army and the Church stand, and have stood for centuries, between the improvident peasantry, with their pathetic superstitions, and their lords and masters. _^_ The gold-seeking Cortes appeared upon the scene at the head of a small but intrepid band of adventurers in November, 1518, and but three short years sufficed for the complete subjec- tion of the native populace. Under his forceful sway the ancient forms and customs gave way to those of the conquering race. In less than four years after the destruction of the Aztec city of Mexico, a new Spanish city arose on its ruins. Splendid buildings were erected, roads, bridges, viaducts and water systems were planned and executed on a gigantic scale. Villages and towns came into being from one end of the land to the other. Spain, glorious in arms and in the Arts, imposed her civiHzation upon this ancient people and all vestige of the civilization of the Montezumas was swept away, almost as if it had never been. The rapid spread of Spanish Arts and Sciences was due in largest measure to the powerful and disciplined activ- ity of the Church. One of the first acts of the ambitious Cortes, after he had firmly estab- lished himself in the country, was to send forth a call for missionaries from the old world to plant the true cross on this newly-discovered soil. The conversion of the natives was easy and rapid, as the Aztec forms of worship, remarkable for their ceremonial, had prepared the people for the pomps and splendors of the Roman ritual. The building of churches progressed with the winning of converts and it has been estimated that at the end of the second century after the conquest, no less than eight thousand separate church buildings were in existence — sixty of them being in the capital alone. Naturally the architecture of these churches followed closely the styles prevailing in the mother country. That is to say, it followed them as closely as the recollection of the monastic builders would allow, and as the local circumstances and materials would permit. The archi- tecture of Mexico, as exemplified in the buildings of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, is the architecture of the Spanish Renaissance repeated in a cruder form. In spite of the fact that it has been the fashion to deprecate the work of the Spanish architects during this period and to compare it unfavorably in the elements of restraint and refinement with Italian art of the same time — it yet must be admitted that notwithstanding its great crudity of detail and its often haphazard and seemingly accidental composition, much of this Mexican work IS amazingly beautiful. The examples which are known to us, possess the same merit of their defects to be found in the Spanish examples. The same free use, or misuse, of the Orders and the same almost Oriental over-decoration are evident. The same excellences of mass and scale and the same contrast of enriched surfaces with plain, unbroken walls, please the eye and disarm the critical sense. But above all, the silhouettes of the lovely towers and the graceful domes give a charm to these churches scarcely to be discovered elsewhere. After paying full tribute to the original sources of inspiration, the feeling remains that the Spanish Renaissance gained something by its transplantation to Mexican soil. That it should have lost something too in precision and finesse is but natural. But, the qualities of sponta- neity, freshness and naivete which characterize all of the Mexican work, give to it an individu- ality and make an appeal which cannot be resisted. Moreover, the differences in material — the more sparing use of stone and the greater evidence of stucco, together with the skilful em- ployment of polychrome tiling — contribute toward the impression of greater informality. The gain in color under the brilliant sunlight is notable. Pigment and nature have com- bined to wash and stain every surface with the most ravishing hues. Pale pinks, and mauves, and umbers streak the warm stucco, and crisp, translucent shadows fall easily and smoothly from cornice and balcony, or lie cool and inviting in the deep recesses of portal and arcade. One is continually turning the angle of a shaded, narrow street only to come face to face with the most exquisite of water colors left wet and sparkling by some Titanic brush. The pure green, blue and orange tiles which cover the swelling domes in patterns are picked out unerringly and the huddled form of an Indian makes with his serape, just the right splash of vermilion in the sunlit foreground. Here one catches a glimpse of the rich rose-purple of the Bougainvillea vme against a white or lemon-tinted wall and there, the glowing globes of ripe orange fruit in the thick, glossy foliage of some enticing garden. Through the curve of a low archway, from a sunny arcaded patio, comes the cool sound of trickling water and behind the grating of a window the soft eyes of some dusky senorita sparkle. At a wayside well, laughing boys fill their jars, or droves of patient donkeys crowd to slake their thirst. In most of these allur- ing pictures some note of architecture, however slight, is present and becomes a factor in the composition. Of the earlier buildings, perhaps the most widely known is the palace of Cortes at Cuer- navaca, completed in 1 53 1 . Its low arches sprung from rather stocky columns, are possibly more Romanesque than Spanish in feeling, but later buildings more closely follow the Re- naissance tradition in an increase of grace and lightness. There are other examples of arcaded courtyards of this period, but they are not numerous, and most of the surviving work, both ecclesiastical and secular, dates from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Although the cornerstone of the Cathedral of the City of Mexico, which stands upon the site of a former Aztec temple, was laid in 1573, the Church was not finally dedicated until 1677, and the towers were not completed until 1791. This Cathedral though imposing and dignified in design is not characteristic in the same degree as many of the minor Cathedrals and churches scattered throughout the country. In comparison with them, it is formal and cold in its pseudo classicism. The Sagrario-Metripolitana (on the other hand) which adjoins it is a magnificent example of the highly ornate Churrigueresque. Traces of this latter style are evident in many of the Churches in the city, as well as elsewhere, notably at Zacatecas, Valenciana, Quere- taro, San Luis Potosi, Orizaba and Puebla. Some altar pieces in this manner remain and doubtless others existed m interiors now bare and denuded. Of the purer and more refined Plateresque there are fewer examples and it is easy to understand how the coarse and Horid style of Churriguera might have been chosen almost with deliberation to impress and awe the unsophisticated natives. Nor is this altogether a matter of regret, for his writhing and wriggling ornament, his broken and curved entablatures glitter and scintillate with wonderful effect. One has much the same feeling with regard to the glazed tiles of many colors which cover the usually low but finely curved domes. Their use is general, but they are seen in their greatest variety and richness at Puebla. The domes themselves, of which there must be hundreds, are almost without exception graceful in contour, and support exquisite lanterns. In fact it is by their charming silhouettes and the countless number of beautiful campaniles and towers, that the Architecture of Mexico is best remembered. Every- where these towers rise above the surrounding landscape and everywhere they are lovely in outline. The twin towers of the Cathedral at Morelia (formerly Valladohd) are particularly im- pressive. They are finely designed in the more dignified and restrained Plateresque, rising to a greater height than is common and dominating the valley in which this most interesting little city lies. Its quaint air of decorum, its well ordered streets — many of which are arcaded al- most in the Italian manner, its quiet little squares, and the restraint and refinement shown in the simple facades of its principal buildings, recall some small Contmental capital or seat of learn- ing. The Cathedral was begun in 1 640, and dedicated in 1 706, although the towers were not finally completed until 1 744. The fine iron work of its enclosure is of a later date. There is no such profusion of beautiful metal work in Mexico as in the mother country, but many simple grilles and balconies, excellent in design and craftsmanship, are to be found in all of the principal towns and cities. The domestic architecture of the cities varies in elaboration with the wealth and import- ance of the individual. Many of the houses present plain facades pierced by few small and heavily barred windows to the street, but enclose patios or courtyards of considerable interest. Some of the tiniest of these have much charm and the larger often attain a real measure of dignity. Courtyards like those of the Iturbide Palace in the City of Mexico and the Federal Palace at Queretaro are even grandiose owing to the ornamentation of their span- drels, archivolts and piers. Some private palaces also possess highly ornate street facades and the comparative rarity of these adds to the richness of their effect. With the general development of the country which is sure to follow the establishment of peace and order, much of the charm and quaintness of the Old Mexico must pass. To- day, however, it is a land full of interest for the architect, the painter and the sympathetic traveller ready to respond to the appeal of the strange, the quaint, the beautiful or the pic- turesque. Louis La Beaume. CUERNAVACA I Palace of Cortez CUERN AVACA 2 P A T I o — P osT Office CUERNAVACA 3 P A T I o — P osT Office 4 P A T I o — P OST Office CUERN AVACA H- 5 Street Shrine CUERN AVACA 6 Chapel of Terce r — O rder of San Francisco CUERNAVACA 7 Chapel of Terce r — O rder of San Francisco CUERNAVACA CUERNAVACA T N- 9 Chapel of Terce r — O rder of San Fr A N c I s c o < u < > < a: UJ D u Q < H a: o o u H < > a: < < > < a: UJ D u a < H Di O O H < cu CUERN AVACA 12 Street Corner CUERN AVACA 13 Church of Guadalupe CUERNAVACA 14 Gallery in Patio CUERN AVACA 15 Street Scene 16 Church of Vera Cruz — Cit'i' of Mexic CITY OF MEXICO 17 Sagrario M e t r o p o l 1 t a n a o >< o >- D o a X O o Q CITY OF MEXICO 20 Church of St a. Teresa la Antigua CITY OF MEXICO 21 Church of St a. Teresa la Antigua o u >< o H O O u O o Q CITY OF MEXICO ,, rt 24 Tower, La Trinidad CITY OF MEXICO 25 Church of San Fernando CITY OF MEXICO 26 Baptistry- CIT^' OF MEXICO - »., i, 27 Side Door of Sagrario CITY OF MEXICO 28 Church of la Profesa o O >< o o J < H o o m O u >< O H U H o I u >- J o a. 2 < a. < u ON CITY OF MEXICO CITY OF MEXICO 32 Tiled House CITY OF MEXICO 33 Ancient Church in Environs CITY OF MEXICO 34 Holy Well — Guadalupe CITY OF MEXICO \ V 35 Main Portal — Sagrario CITY OF MEXICO 35A Convent Chapel PUEBLA 36 Main Portal — San Francisco PUEBLA 37 Detail — San Fran CISCO PUEBLA 3 8 D E T A I L S AN FRANCISC O P OLYCHROME TiLES PUEBLA ■'^'l 40 Balcony — Private House PUEBLA I Facade — Private House PUEBLA 42 Church of Loreto PUEBLA 43 Church of El Car MEN PUEBLA 44 Public Fountain ^"^'L r' - 4" - ' *"' .^^^ Ife^is^sA. .,.. ^' -■■:„- /v -i:.;^ „ ' ^-A^j^sfms^mmm?':^^. i ■• «V -A-^ *^'^-i^ ■ ■■:■ . "V-^ ,. J' i A2_ ' ■I'f 'i ■ - 1 I"' . ,^.,. , K«aSB9!«*- ' 'r^t^"^ ^B^B |k L^^tmi jBBIBBpJI ^ ^^ 1^ ^mmm 'V;*"*'**^' r'feM'^s v^v^^lJHHHHHHHHHHH i^^fe^ ^^^BSBl '" 5^ aaa^efe!:a«ar - gsi- •'■ ^^l ■Br - *«)»-• fpptt ■■;■■■"'■■ - .. ■■...//;/^i„:^y'^: . .,.»:i. . _ _4 ■'■■.■,^. I'"''". ' ' ''■^:" ^ ■■■■■' t ■.■■'.. ' ■ '■, / ■■ %;.''' y- -v 45 Stone Bench, Old Alameda PUEBLA 46 Chapel of San Sebastian de Aparicio 47 Main Portal — La Com pa N I A PUEBLA 48 Chapel QUERETARO 49 Facade — San Felipe Neri QUERETARO 50 Facade — Santo Domingo QUERETARO 51 Tower — Santo D O M I N G O QUERETARO 52 Tower — Santa Rosa QUERETARO ■^Jt S"^ . -- -- -'5' 1 ,jr .* 53 Street Scene — Dome of Cathedral o < H UJ D a a: < > u Q < J J > a: < UJ I H u. O < < CU -^ QUERETARO 55 Fountain — Federal Pal ACE ^af^-^^j 'm^ammmi^r 56 Private Patio o cc; < D a u o < < < u Q ul D o u < Di a o < H UJ CC UJ D a < < -J O < Z < o H Z > Z o O CO QUERETARO 59 Gallery, Prixate House QUERETARO 60 Church — Lateral Facade r QUERETARO 61 Convent Entrance QUERETARO 2 Flying Buttress — Parish Church ACAMBARO 63 Cathedral ACAMBARO 64 Capilla del Hospital ACAM B ARO I u o a: Di < < u. o < o: o Cu z < r^ O o < CQ < < u D I U < Cu ACAMBARO 8 Gateway of La Parrochia GUANAJUATO 69 Facade — San Diego MORELIA 70 Towers of Cathedral M O R E L I A 71 Tower of Cathedr A L MORELIA 11 Transept of Cathedral MORELIA 73 Dome of Cathedral MORELIA 74 Lateral Court and Bishop's Palace MORELIA 75 Fa CADE — Bishop's Pala C E \^ < _1 O < < J < a. z t^ r^ < -J UJ o o X u H > CU MORELI A 78 View through Porta l — M unicipal Palace MORELI A 79 Calle Principal a: o Q < J < a; Q I 1- < u o H < < a o z < a. o u < -J u. o X u X D U o 00 MORELIA 82 "PORTALES" CALLE PRINCIPAL MORELIA 3 Street Fountain MORELI A 4 Church of El Carmen MORELIA 85 Detail — Church of El Carmen MORELIA 6 Lantern — Cathedral Tower 7 Main Portal — San Pedri ORELIA Lambrequin over Door — Barracks ^n- MORELI A .9 Gateway to Parish Church MORELI A 90 Facade — Private House M O R E L I A 91 Corner Fountain MORELIA 92 Convent of San Diego MORELIA 93 Plazuela — Convent of San Diego < -J O 3 O X UJ H < > a. H O u < w a: o D O m h < > 0^ 96 Side Doorway — San Jose MORELIA 97 Aqueduct — Alameda de San Pedro MORELI A 98 "PORTALES" CaLLE PRINCIPAL 99 View from Roof — Hotel Osseguera OAXACA 101 PoRTALEs — Village near Oaxaca OAXACA 102 Courtyard (Church) Entrance 103 Private House < u < X < o o < < a. o I CQ u Di H H D CQ in o < H Z D O U. a: z o: o U -^ o OAXACA >*■«■■** ■■^■'<^^i 106 Window Grille, Residence O A X A C A O A X A C A 108 Gateway to Churchyard CELAYA 109 Circular Arcade — Market < < < o o J o Q u. o q: o o Q Q 2 < < 1- 2 D O ~^it-^ } i I I 1 1 1 Lateral Buttresses — Cathedral OAXACA 112 Facade — Parish Church OAXACA 113 Country Church near Oaxac CELAYA 114 Church of El Carmen CELAYA 115 Main Portal — El Car MEN CELAYA 116 Side Portal — El Car MEN SAN LUIS POTOSI 17 Cathedral SAN LUIS POTOSI 118 Church of El Carmen