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The Principal Retable of the Church of San Xavier Del Bac The principal retable of the church of San Xavier del Bac Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Goss, Robert Carl, 1924- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 05/10/2021 05:21:09 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/566292 THE PRINCIPAL RETABLE OF THE CHURCH OF SAN XAVIER DEL BAG > y Robert C. Goss A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ART in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1 9 6 9 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfill­ ment of requirements for an advanced degree at The Univer­ sity of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permis­ sion for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: l APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: . I ROBERT M. QUINN Date Professor of Art ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My appreciation is extended to Professor Robert M. Quinn, as teacher of the stimulating seminar which aroused my interest in San Xavier del Bac and clarified many ideas for this study, and also as a constructive critic of the manuscript. I gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona and especially the generous efforts of Helga Teiwes for provid­ ing the excellent photographs of the altarpiece which were indispensable to the study. The photographs reproduced as Figures 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 30 are: "Courtesy of the Arizona State Museum, Helga Teiwes photographer." My special appreciation is also expressed to Peggy Anderson of the University of Arizona Art Department for her help in reproducing the above figures. My gratitude is extended to Father Kieran R. McCarty of San Xavier Mission for providing unlimited access to the church and the retable, and for his interest, ideas, and comments concerning the history of the mission. In addition, I owe a special debt to my wife, Carol, who typed the manuscript and lent unfailing encouragement and interest to my efforts. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . ..................... -. vi ABSTRACT ................................. viii 1. INTRODUCTION .............. .......... 1 2. THE RETABLE OF A MISSION C H U R C H ....... 5 History of Mission San Xavier del Bac .... 6 The Jesuit Period ....................... 7 The Franciscan Period .......... 11 The Present Church and the Re ta b l e ........ 13 Character of the R e t a b l e ................... 17 Retable Organisation .......... 20 Style Analysis ....... .......... 22 3. THE SAN XAVIER RETABLE: ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH MEXICAN COLONIAL ART ............ 26 Historical Influences .............. .... 26 Spanish Heritage .......... ...... 28 Ret able Development in New S p a i n ........ .. 31 Craft Brotherhoods and the Artesans . 32 Ret able Workshops................ 38 Evolution of Art Styles 45 Renaissance............................ 49 Baroque.......... 52 Churrigueresque.......... .. 54 4. COMPONENTS OF THE SAN XAVIER RETABLE: ART HISTORY AND ICONOGRAPHY........... 62 The Estipites.............................. 63 God the Father ............................. 68 Medallion Relief Busts • • 74 The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception . 79 The Saints ........... .......... 90 Saints Peter and P a u l ............ 93 St. Andrew v. .'........ .. 100 S i m o n ............ 103 St. Francis X a v i e r ....................... 108 iv 1 V TABLE OF CONTENTS— Continued Page Estipite Cartouche Paintings ........ 114 Ladder ...... .................... 115 T r e e ................ .. 117 T o w e r .......................... 120 Decorative Motifs ........................... 123 5. CONCLUSION ....................................... 133 Retable Themes .......... ......... 135 Retable Statuary ......... ........ 140 Retable Style ........ .............. 141 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................... 168 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure ' Page 1. Church of San Xavier del B a c ........ '......... 146 2. The Principal Retable of the Church of San Xavier del B a c .............. .. 147 3. Schematic Organization, Retable of San Xavier. 148 4. Renaissance Style Retable in the Church of San Miguel, Huejotzingo (Puebla) ...... 149 5. Roman Herm in the Form of the Mythological God Mercury ......... .......... 150 6. Estipite Form in II Gesu C h o i r ............. 151 7. Estipite Capital Decoration .................. 152 8. Retable A n g e l s ............ 152 9. Estipite Form of Jose' Churriguera in the Capilla del Sagrario for the Cathedral of Segovia............ 153 10. Estipite Form of Jose Churriguera in the Capilla de San Esteban for the Convent of Salamonica ............... 154 11. Estipite Form of Jeronimo de Baibas in the Choir of San Juan en Marchena, Spain .... 155 12. Bust of God the Father on the San Xavier Retable ..... ......................... 156 . 13. Detail from the Disputa by Raphael in the Stanza della Segnatura, Rome .............. 156 14. Medallion Bust on God the Father's Right .... 157 15. Medallion Bust on God the Father's Left .... 157 16. Virgin Mary on the San Xavier Ret ab l e ... 158 vi vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS— Continued Figure Page 17. The Standard of C o r t e s ......................... 159 18. Detail of Virgin Mary on the San Xavier R e t a b l e .......... 159 19. Statue of St. Peter on the San Xavier Retable ................. 160 20. Statue of St. Paul on the San Xavier Retable . 160 21. Detail of St* P e t e r .............. 161 22. Detail of St. Paul . ....................... 161 23. Detail of St. A n d r e w .............. 162 24. Detail of Simon ........................ 162 25. St. Francis Xavier . .. .. .. 163 26. Estipite Painting of a Ladder ........ 164 27. Estipite Painting of a Tr e e ........... 164 28. Estipite Painting of a Cypress T r e e ......165 29. Estipite Painting of a Tower . .. .... 165 30. Decorative Detail on the Retable of San Xavier .................. 166 31. Painted Decoration in the Niche of Simon . 167 32. Winged Cherub Head Motif ................ 167 ABSTRACT The principal retable of the Church of San Xavier is a rare example in the United States of an 18th century Churrigueresque style altarpiece. The retable relates to the religious art and architecture of Spain and colonial Mexico through historical, sociological, and stylistic factors which influenced its distinctive form. Its basic structure, standards of craftsmanship, and ornament stem from its Spanish heritage and the traditionalism of retable workshops that operated in.Mexico City. Through the work­ shops, artesans developed, preserved, and disseminated a vocabulary of decorative forms characteristic of a style of altarpiece that became unique to Mexico. - Deliberate consideration was involved in the con­ ception and organization of the San Xavier retable, and each component of statuary and decoration was chosen to play its part in a total symbolic expression. The domi­ nant theme of the retable is concluded to be the redemp­ tion of man through the death and resurrection of Christ. The dominant theme of redemption is supported by sub-themes relating to the Virgin Mary, the life and sacrifice of Jesus, the creation of the Church, and the propagation of the faith. viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The imposing architecture of the mission church of San Xavier del Bac still dominates an expanse of southern Arizona desert as it has for the past 175 years. The church is located on a slight elevation bordering the flood plain of the Santa Cruz River some nine miles south of the city of Tucson. Its twin towers and hemispherical dome are brilliantly white and can be seen for many miles across the dusty green desert floor. The sight of this magnificent structure against its backdrop of mountainous horizon invokes a feeling of unreality. The fact that such an ambitious and noble monument was built on the desolate frontier of New Spain in the late 18th century arouses wonder and curiosity. (Figure 1.) San Xavier follows the form of the parish church that was developed and reproduced almost to monotony during the Baroque period in Mexico.^ It has the typical characteristics of a Latin cross plan with a balanced transept and a dome over the crossing. The portal is at 1. Manuel Toussaint, Colonial Art in Mexico, trans. and ed. Elizabeth Wilder Weismann (Austin: Univer­ sity of Texas Press, 1967), p. 181 1 2 the opposite end of the nave between two towers and there is a lateral entrance on the side. The sacristy is located in the space between a transept arm and the apse. The church is constructed entirely of burned brick and is smooth-coated with lime stucco. More unique to San Xavier is its exterior and interior architectural detail, which consists of carved stucco and plaster over brick core forms. The same con­ struction technique was used for its principal retable in the apse, and altarpieces in both transept chapels. This study focuses on the principal retable of the Church of San Xavier, which is the church's artistic as well as spiritual center. Its imposing location at the end of the apse provides an impressive backdrop for the altar and dominates the view from the nave. The study approaches the retable in its entirety, as a complete work of art, through ah analysis of the history and iconography of the statuary, the architectural detail, and the decorative motifs that comprise it.
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