How do we experience spirituality? Is it an open act based on belief and connection to the supernatural, or has it become an empty ritual, where we mouth empty words and cling for a higher power to rescue us? I think in recent years we’ve discarded the power that art holds in bringing together the search for identity and deity. There’s a wide gap separating the public from the images that have been created to make them wonder, hope, and long for a new reality. Art’s ability to turn a simple exhibit or stroll down a museum into its own religious encounter has been downplayed to the point where most of us forget that an artwork can be a catalyst and a trigger for a new meaning of the divine.
“The Diluge”
“Annunciation”
Step into any old church in Latin America and you’re sure to encounter images that are haunting and engaging. Regardless of how poor or dire the circumstances were during colonial times, each temple had iconography that had the ability to convert even the most cynical or stubborn. The monks and missionaries tasked with turning the indigenous population into dutiful subjects of the Crown and the Vatican, used different methods compared to that of the soldiers. Because, while words can be misconstrued and commandments fully ignored, a massive painting that fills an entire wall or a colossal altar piece is hard to look away from.
“The Holy Name of Mary”
“Adam and Eve in Paradise”
Art has the ability to makes us reflect and open our minds to a story that in the end we’ll believe is ours alone. Cristobal de Villalpando was a painter and military man from seventeenth century Mexico who’s famous for creating Baroque images of biblical and religious events and characters. In fact, this artistic style was promoted by the church during the tumultuous landscape of the reformation, when they needed believers to strengthen their bonds rather than stray to a different belief system or religion. Perhaps that’s why the images are so decadent, realistic, and bold, so that viewers could feel a religious experience brought about through the color and realism in the paintings.
“The Agony in the Garden”
“The Immaculate Conception”
These paintings have a cinematic quality to them. They capture raw emotions while also presenting perfectly framed moments that anyone who’s attempted to take the perfect Instagram group pic could only dream about. Each character in the image has their own purpose, attitude, and intent. The fact that they’re almost life-size, provide the viewer with the possibility to place ourselves in their shoes in order to decipher what their opinion means compared to what we believe.
“Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus”
“Tree of Life”
Religious art’s place and purpose in our contemporary world is a little different than in its original one. It’s no longer intended to turn us into believers or prevent us from straying from an organized faith system. Its mission is to help us connect with a deeper aspect of ourselves, leading us to be more self-aware in our existence and connection with our world.
A collection of Cristobal Villalpando’s paintings are currently being exhibited at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, in partnership with the World Monuments Fund, recently held a benefit reception in the exhibit in order to raise funds for the institute’s programming as well as for the conservation and renovation of the convent of San Juan Baustista in Cuauhtinchan. This site is one of the numerous historic monument that has been affected by the recent earthquakes in central and southern Mexico.
Diego Gómez Pickering, Mexico’s Consul General in New York, explained why events like these are important in promoting Mexican art and culture throughout the world: “With this event, we seek to strengthen the promotion of Mexico, specifically of our culture, in one of the most important art institutions in the United States.”
