San Jose de Laguna Mission, New Mexico

Interior of san Jose ; notice windows on the left, and painting in the nave.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, photograph by G. E. Kidder Smith

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

I have been interested in the New Mexican mission in Acoma a long time and shall return later to it and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. However I want to start with the nearby Church in Laguna. The Pueblo revolt  by Native Americans of 1680 was very distructive to the whole area but after the Spanish Reconquest  an offshoot of Acoma was established - a new pueblo village  some 30 miles away at Laguna in the late 1690s. Settlers from Acoma and Zuni and Queres helped to found  it. Like Acoma, it is situated on an outcrop of rock, rising like an island in the land. The houses today still show a fascinating blend of Indian and Spanish architecture. The highest point was used to found the Church of San Jose. much of it built by the local people while they welcomed their  first Priest,  Fray Antonio de Miranda. Unusually the building is of stone covered by adobe and now regularly whitewashed. 

The interior is 105 by 22 feet There were no arches or dome; as these were quite unknown to Native Americans and they did the building... Kubler 'Art and Architecture in Spain and Portugal and their American dominions 1500-18800' waxes lyrical about the building : in particular about a transverse window spanning the nave at the chancel  between the roof levels of the nave and the sanctuary thereby producing what can be called a Baroque light effect.  There may have been a clerestory originally that was dispensed with when the roof was reordered at a later date. I note there are now two windows high up on the left wall of the nave and a prominent window over the entrance on the west wall and these do create some light.  Nevertheless the interior was felt by Fray Dominguez to be "very gloomy" in 1776!!  

Chncel in 1923 by Laura Gilpin : alas the
side walls have since been whitewashed.

Early in the first decade of the next century an unnamed artist, who we call "the Laguna santero" created the colourful altar screen and sanctuary we know today. It simulates the foliage and scrolls of Spanish artists. A contemporary Fray Jose Pedro Rubi de Celis  Wrote "First, the church of this mission built of stone with baptistery and sacristy. At its main altar is placed a wooden altar screen painted in tempera with delicate colors. Four turned columns and three scallop shells in half relief adorn it. In the principal place it has painted an image of the Most Holy Patriarch St. Joseph, on his right side that of Lord St. John Nepomucene, on the other side that of St. Barbara, and at the summit the Most Holy Trinity. In addition to this, there is at this altar a painting on a frame fit to the shape of the sanctuary serving as a ceiling over the altar. The side walls are adorned with curtains in perspective, painted in colors, which embellish the entire sanctuary. The table that serves for celebrating [Mass] has its elk-hide frontal on very solid frames and well painted." 

A painting of St Joseph still dominates the reredos. An earlier one presented to the Church in Acoma by King Charles II was for a time kept here. This caused a dispute that went on for several years which ended up in the Supreme Court in 1857. 

There were adjacent buildings for a small community of friars in the 18th century. These decayed over the 19th century and were later used as community rooms until they were returned to the Church to become accomodation for the priest.

In the 1870s the church was nearly pulled down, due to lack of use and the hostility of local Protestants. The then sacristan, Hami, faced down the Protestants and through several generations the Church has survived and is still a parish church in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup, and visited by tourists. Alas I doubt that I will get there....it is a special place.

For a very interesting article by Suizanne Hammons written 9 April 2014 read here.

                        "Misión San José de Laguna," in World History Commons, https://worldhistorycommons.org/mision-san-jose-de-laguna [accessed November 10, 2025

Rosario Chapel, Santo Domingo, Puebla

Very short introductory video

 I have longed to post about this remarkable chapel - the first to be dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary in New Spain, Built between 1650 and 1690 it has been called the House of Gold and an 8th wonder of the world. In 1979 Pope John Paul II called the Reliquary of America.Suprisingly both Pal Kelemen 'Baroque and Rococo in Latin America (1951) and Sacheverell Sitwell  'Southern Baroque revisited ' (1967) seem to have missed it in their pathfinding visits. The use of gold leaf and stucco relief is overwhelming, particularly in the dome with 60 angelic figures.Each figure is different, some head only, some whole body. The complex interweaving  of three dimensional white and gold stucco strapwork incorporates leaves, birds, scrolls, grapes, angels and ribbons, covering walls, dome and vestibule  to an unequalled amount. The stucco work uses plaster made of flour, egg white and water then overlaid with gold leaf. The resulting strap framework spreads over sculptural and painting elements and sometimes spills over into the framed pictues of the Virgin, virtues (faith hope and charity), saints, and Archangels bearing Mary' s titles. 

High altar and view into the drum and dome.

The prototype was likely the chapel of San Isidro in San Andres Church, Madrid, which was begun in 1657 and developed several times later in the century. The stucco strap-work motifs in the vaults may come from drawings and engravings of examples in the Netherlands. Debates have been had about the provenance of the decoration. How far can we see American Indian influence? I do not feel qualified to say. It seems safe to say there are Castilian, Andalusian, Italian and Netherlands antecedents but these were in turn used and developed by indigenous workers. 

The Dominicans arrived in Puebla in 1526 but the chapel was only begun in 1650. It was the brainchild of Friar Juan de Cuenca  to teach the people how to pray the Holy Rosary. It fell to Friar Agustin Hernandez and Friar Diego de Gorozpe to complete the long arduous work. The consecration on 16 April 1690 was a great day in Puebla coinciding with foundation date of the city. Celebrations went on for 9 days with sermons, Masses and jubilant public events each day. Friar Gorozpe spoke in a sermon of the chapel being like a musical ensemble, with all architectural units and motifs taking part - emphasised by a lunette above the choir with many instruments, conducted from above, by God the Father. 

The floor plan of the chapel is based on a Latin cross with short transepts and shallow apse. The nave is in three sections with barrel vault and lunette windows.The narrow dome over the crossing with drum has windows above and in the dome iteself to provide illumination for the great cypress tree style 17th century altar by Lucas Pinto  below. The altar  is in two stages with 12 plain columns below and 12 spiral decorated ones above made of Mexican alabaster. The nave walls have large paintings in chiaroscuro style by Jose Rodriguez Carnero (1649-1725) of the Joys of the Virgin. The paintings in the transept , and apse are also by Carnero. In the left transept is the Assumption, with polychrome statues of St John and St Matthew and above  these surrounded by flowers and leaves St Elizabeth and St Joseph. In the right transept the Coronation of the Virgin with statues of St Mark and St Luke.and above St Joachim and St Anne  in the foliage. The apse contains the painting of the Glorification of the Rosary: Mary with crown of roses. 

This chapel is important because the ornate stucco work begun here was continued in the churches of Oaxaca. It has undergone major restoration 1967-71 sponsored by the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation.

                    

Saints Peter and Paul, Cracow

 

The Jesuits came to Cracow in 1582 and at first used existing Gothic churches.  Finding these inadequate they managed to get The King to support the foundation of a College and Church in 1595. Several Jesuit architects were involved in the initial building leading to demolition and rebuilding. Eventually the Royal architect Giovanni Trevano (from Lombardy} took over and redesigned the facade, and finalised the dimensions of the church and the dome.Consecation occurred in 1608, completionof ther dome in 1609 but the final completion was not until 1619. 

The facade follows the Vignola rather then the della Porta Rome Jesu design with two storeys.The lower is subdivided by shallow pilasters but the pillars framing the door dominate. 

It is a traditional Jesuit church based on the Jesu and S.Andrea della Valle in Rome :  a wide nave, with rows of dark chapels with strong walls and connected only by small openings; then small transepts with dome centrally above and a rounded apse. Lunette windows in the vault above the nave chapels light the nave and large windows in the drum and lantern at the top of the dome flood the crossing with light. The interior gives most prominence to the officiating priest in his robes at the high altar and the walls of the nave and the projecting pillars of the dome can be viewed as theatre wings leading us to the stage with its altar.

The apse and side chapels have the best  stucco work in Cracow . It is by Giovanni  Batttista Falconi who came from Milan was to spend much of his life working here (1619-33) There is a late Baroque high altar (1735)by Kacper Bazanka.

This church encouraged many other Baroque churches to be built in Cracow but some believe none were of comparable richness of design. 

Carmine, Turin

 

View toward high altar

I'm still in Turin, exploring some of the works by Juvarra. He  built his church for the Carmelite Order 1732-5. This time he goes for a highlongitudinal desiogn without transepts and dome.The wide nave has  three chapels each side with high open galleries above the chapels. This means two arches one above the other, with no clerestory.  The windows of the gallery provide light for the nave. The nave wall has become liked a skeleton of high pillars. Wittkower believes this is unprecedented in Italy.There had of course been open galleries in the Middle Ages. The first appearance in Renaissance artchitecture and with a barrel roof was at St Michael, Minich (1583-97) and was popular thereafter in Germany. Juvarra is likely to have known this and decided to use it here. Often chapels, particularly in Jesuit churches, had been dim,. Here the chapels derive their light from oval openings from the gallery windows above. The idea of getting hidden light and conducting it through an opening began in Italy with Bernini (St Teresa altar) and was used later in Austria and Germany for whole chapels, It seems Juvarra now may have used this in Turin for his chapels at the Carmine. 

See the little video below  to experience the interior and the side chapels in particular.

Facade built 1872 and restored in 1950s.

Basilica of the Superga, Turin

 The great old city of Turin is very high in my list of intended visits. The sight of this monumental church perched above the city would be a must. 

In 1706 the city was besieged by over 40,000 French troops during the War of the Spanish Succession. On 28 August that year the Duke, Vittorio Amadeo II and his cousin Prince Eugene of Savoy climbed to the top of the Superga hill for reconnaisance. While visiting the little church church there,  the Duke promised in front of a statue to the Virgin that were he to be victorious he would build a great church to her honour there.

Therefore the Superga was built 1717-31 as a votive offering. However it was also built as a huge ego trip for the House of Savoy because they had annexed the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 after their victory over the French and then were also to annex  Sardinia in 1720. it would be bold solid monument reflecting the power and aspiration of the Roral patron. The result "is by far the grandest of the great number of Baroque sanctuaries on mountains (Wittkower). 

As King of Sicily in 1714 Victorio Amadeo II met Juvarra in Messina and by the end of the year had made him First Architect to the King. This was to give him unparalelled prestige in Italy and an international career. In 1719-20 he  was involved in plans for the palace of Mafra for King John V of Portugal. He visited Paris and London in 1720 and designed a Royal Palace of Madrid for Philip V in 1735. The Superga was the first major work of the young Juvarra, after his 10 years in Rome.His time in Turin was to be filled not only with comissions throughout Italy but also included 5 churches, 4 Royal residences and 4 large town palaces. His knowledge of historical and contemporary styles was exemplorary. For the Superga we could detect the influence of the Pantheon and St Maria dei Miracoli in Piazza del Popolo. and for the desired  prominent dome and the twin bell towers, perhaps St Agnese in the Piazza Navona. His church is attached to a large rectangular monastery block but only  a quarter is concealed inside the block with the remaining three quarters thrusting their circular magficence toward the viewer. The portico in front of the church is square in plan and the same height as the body of the church, the drum and the dome. 

The interior rotunda suggests the characteristics of a Greek cross and the octagonal dome grows from  a ring of columns supporting the entablature, with no pendentive zone. The windows in the drum and rubs and coffers of the dome are remiscent of Borromini and Bernini respectively.

Interior - notice how the drum rests on the entablature supported by the pillars.
Paris Orlando, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The sanctuary has its own vaults and lighting source, but does not detract from the rotunda as the dominant space. There is no nave and this feels quite an intimate  place, great for worship.

Juvarra planned and oversaw the whole construction. It was to be his masterpiece. The height of the hill was even reduced by 40 metres to achieve the desired effect. He hoped to be buried there. In the event he died in Madrid, but later in 1770s a special crypt was built below the presytery to house the remains of the Royal family of Savoy. 

With its wonderful position and monumentality, we can see parallels with Melk, Weingarten and Einsiedeln, all built about the same time. How much did Juvarra know about them?

St Anne chapel, Brezany Panenske

 

One of Santini's first buildings of his own design, the little chapel of St Anne, is reckoned to be one of his best.This is proven by being featured on local postage stamps It's only about 10 miles north of Prague on the main road to Veltrusy. It is a domed triangu;ar chapel built to celebrate the trinity of St Anne, the Virgin and Christ. It was commissioned by the Abbess of St George's convent at Prague castle and begun in 1705. It was originally part of the Upper Castle at Brezany Panenske she had built as an administrative  centre. 

He uses a hexagonal core (six sides) with three arms  projecting outwards to form  chapels, and above the central core a full dome rises on  a plain drum and pendentives.

Source: panenske-brezany.muzeumbrandys.cz/cz/pamatnik-narodniho-utlaku
-a-odboje/historie-horniho-zamku   

S

In 2014 the restoration was agreed. In the 1960s it was in a trerrible state with broken windows, birds nesting above the altar and aircraft engines nearby roaring....

I hope the above photos, which I am grateful to display, encourage someone to visit this attractive church. 

St John Nepomuk, Zdar

 Giovanni Santini keeps appearing in any survey of Czech Baroque churches.Strange Gothic inspired Baroque hybrids or something unique? Was he Italian ? He came from an Italian immigrant family of masons, but was born in Prague in1667  and died there in 1723. Sometimes he is known as Jan Blazel Santini Aichel. His training included time in Italy, England, and the Netherlands. His work shows the influence of Fischer von Erlach and Borromini. His career really took off from 1700  with a dozen projects  still ongoing at his death. He seems to have been one of the more imaginative architects of his time with some 40 patrons. His best patrons were monasteries.

In 1719-22 he created a pilgrimage chapel attached to the Cistercian abbey of Zdar in honour of St J ohn Nepomuk, whose tongue had recently been mysteriously rediscovered undecayed. Remember he had been martyred in the 14th century because of his refusal to releal the secrets of the confessional. The Abbot of Zdar was one of Santini's best clients. Other projects included renovation of the Abbey buildings moification of its church and several bizarre shaped buildings determined by particular symbolism - for example a chapel to the Virgin at Obyctov with a plan like a tortoise  , which symbolised constancy! 

The new chapel was to be situated on a grassy mound {Green Hill or Zelena Gora) with some trees  It was to  be a focal point. At first sight it seems like a Gothic tent with five star shaped wings and  five low oval dormered chapels - puzzling. It's hard to describe.Take a look at the little video above. 

The interior is very white and maybe shows the influence of Borromini's St Ivo in Rome. The emphasis on five comes from the traditional five stars of St John Nepomuk's halo (his five virtues) as he was thrown into the river Moldau.   The interior is strongly vertical rising to ribbed vaults with stucco decoration, and up into the central mystical heights of the cupola culminated by a tongue. . This central space opens out into five chapels, one with the high altar. Some original furnishings have survived from Santini's time : the high altar depicts the celebration of St John Nepomuk into heaven and the four side altars the four evangelists. I have yet to experience this church in person but, from all I have read and illustrations I have seen, this is a true Baroque space: restless, full of distractions and with plenty of light both from the dormer windows above the side chapels and the lancet windows in the sides of the five wings. 

High altar

There was a major fire in 1784 which damaged the roof and facade. These were repaired 1792-1802.

There are star shaped cloisters containing five chapels forming a circle around the chapel which have been considerably altered since the 18th century. 

St John Nepomuk Zdar is now a World Heritage site and I hope this post encourages you to visit it.

Photos are taken from Wikipedia article about the church.

Santini's original plan