The Figures of Pergatory in Mexican Retablos

Of the three places that are deeply rooted in the religious doctrine of Mexico - Paradise, Purgatory and Hell - it would seem that Purgatory has the strongest following, by far, in religious paintings still existing in churches or museums or on retablos of tin, wood or copper, although I have yet to see one on copper as a support. I will not try to explain all the ramifications, reasoning and doctrine of these catechistic teachings as I would certainly do a poor job and merely be repeating that which anyone can find out for oneself quite easily. Suffice it to say that Paradise was thought to be the ultimate goal for all souls who were perfect and sinless and thus deserving of the true heavenly repose. Hell was where the truly sinful were relegated. Both of these were permanent and irreversible.

On the other hand, and in between the above two extremes, came a temporary abode for those souls who had not been perfect and yet were not so bad as to deserve the nether world of the Inferno. As the root of the word "purgatory" would indicate, this was a place to purge one's defects through torment and help in the expiation of one's sins by the living, who could intercede on behalf of their family members by complying with many different ways of contrition. Indulgences were a common way by which the remission of the temporal or earthly punishment due to unrepented sins could be obtained after sincere repentance with feeling was exercised. Penance was also imposed and ended with absolution by the priest. The goal of these beliefs was the immortality of the soul and was primordial, even for those who died repentant but without having done any penance. Basically, this was the Catholic Church's response to the Lutheran, or Protestant, heresy of not believing in Purgatory.

Now that the ground rules have been somewhat explained concerning this limbo-like region, how best would it be to disseminate this cult? Besides the pulpit and following the rules as set (i.e., confession of sins, repentance, penance), many confraternities arose to promote the work of intercession for the abandoned souls in Purgatory.[1] They were not only very popular but also very serious and devoted to their task. Also, they apparently were very structured in their internal organization and strict in their operational demands. For all this dedication and hard work, they received certain benefits, mainly ecclesiastical in nature, besides the usual widows' and orphans' assistance. The popular fervor was further enhanced as the confraternity almost always sponsored an altar in the church to which they belonged. This altar was dedicated to the souls in Purgatory and it contained a painted representation of the purgatorial scene. What better way to constantly remind the faithful than to have these splendidly colorful and expressive, large-sized canvas scenes available at all times to the worshiping public?

In the published thesis[2] for his master's degree, Jaime Ángel Morera y González

presents approximately fifty black-and-white photos of purgatorial paintings in Mexican churches. As with many other religious paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Mexico , there are a number of anonymous purgatorial canvases, although there are also many that have been signed. Among the signed paintings, we can see Luis Juárez, Antonio Rodríguez, Juan Correa, Miguel Cabrera, Cristóbal Villalpando, José de Paes, and other established painters, for a total of about fourteen. The commissioning of these academic artists is an indication of how much importance was placed on having a masterpiece representing the confraternity in their altar dedicated to releasing souls from their purgatorial shackles and thus more efficiently promoting their objectives.

Since it is very difficult to properly discern all the wonderful details in the black-and- white reproductions in Jaime Morera's book, I have chosen a purgatorial scene from a side altar of the parish church of Purísima del Rincón (see Figure 1). This splendid canvas was painted by none other than Hermenegildo Bustos, recognized for ex-voto, portrait, and, to a lesser extent, religious subject paintings.[3] Without delving into the religious aspects of this painting, there are usually three tiers that seem to be closely followed in many of the depictions of Purgatory in Morera's thesis and also others not covered by this informative book.

The first tier, on the very top third, usually depicts the Holy Trinity and the Holy Family, consisting of the Virgin Mary, Her family of Anne and Joachim, and Saint Joseph . Bustos has added Saint John the Baptist to achieve a better presentational balance. Mary is shown in the immaculate or coronational stance rather than maternal depiction as the mother of Jesus. The Trinity have been painted anthropomorphically, although the dove represents God the Holy Ghost.

In the middle tier, we can see Saint Michael the Archangel and four saints that were chosen by Bustos or whoever ordered this painting, to represent the interceding saints. The Trinity, which represent the Deity, generally do not appear as intercessors as it is the role of the saints to supplicate as mediators for the souls to the Deity. The Holy Family can also play this role, but as individuals and not as a group. Saint Michael, as the weigher of souls, is shown with the scales of final judgement in his left hand. Bustos has depicted Saint Dominic, Francis of Assisi, Anthony of Padua, and Vincent Ferrer for his painting. Each of these saints is shown extending his girdle to the souls who have earned the right to leave Purgatory. The detail to note is that each of these souls already has his wrist and upper-arm shackles broken and is thus free to be raised to Heaven wearing his celestial shroud.

In formal canvas paintings, the most popular advocates or intercessors for the souls in Purgatory were saints and archangels. I believe that Our Lady of Carmel - Nuestra Señora del Carmen - leads all of the other angels that may be present (i.e., San Antonio de Padua, San Francisco de Asís, Santo Domingo de Guzman, San Vicente Ferrer, San Cayetano, San Nicolás Tolentino, San Agustín, Santa Cristina de Lieja). Jaime Morera states that San Ignacio de Loyola was not found as an intercessor in any of the paintings that he researched. San Miguel Arcángel is the leader in the archangel category, but is not as popular as a direct intercessor as one would imagine.

The final tier is Purgatory itself, with all the souls who are surrounded by the reddish-brown flames of purification and seeming to endure the excruciating pain of their situation. Amongst all these individuals, one observes the following figures scattered about and what group they seem to represent:

4. Pope (wearing the tiara or triple crown), bishop (with mitre), priest (with a bonnet), and two other priests who are tonsured - covers most of the ranks of the church's hierarchy

5. person with a spear through his thorax - seems to cover someone who might have been murdered or even martyr who may not have received the last rites

6. woman who seems to have a large nail through her temple - could cover a suicide, but is hard to accept this supposition

8. generally the souls are shown naked and only half-bodied. Some European colored lithographed prints show the souls dressed, but this is not the case for Mexican representations.

Since we are listing classes or types of people, let me add some observations not listed above, but seen in other formal canvases of Jaime Morera's book:

9. native Mexican Indian(s) - the man's head is shaved except for two tassels coming down either side of his head and the women have long hair, the same as women depicted in other Purgatorial scenes

10. rarely are small scapulars seen around the neck or even the large frontal scapular vestment

11. sometimes the chains lead down to one or two large rocks, at the foot of the painting, in the same manner that buoys are anchored to weights

We thus are made aware that in Purgatory, all souls are equal, regardless of their terrestrial

status. Children were the only individuals that were automatically exempt and are thus never seen in purgatorial paintings. In Bustos' painting of the four souls being lifted from Purgatory, only one is a tonsured priest; and the others seem to be regular citizens. In other paintings that I have seen, very few Mexican Indians, Popes, or bishops are shown being saved, which would seem to be correct in a numerically weighted representation of the general populace. This would be a visual stimulant or reminder that "you too will have your chance at salvation." It is interesting to see how the hands, which are generally clasped, and the arms are raised in a succoring motion towards the heavens.

Of particular note is the black individual who wears a turban-like headdress with a red cross on the front. This enigmatic and seemingly incongruent cap-like attribute or identification of his station in life has intrigued me since 1992, and spurred me to do some research on purgatorial paintings, be they formal canvases, three-dimensional wooden Cross of Souls (Cruz de Ánimas), or retablos painted on tin.

From the very public purgatorial canvas paintings located in churches, we turn to the three-dimensional wooden Cross of Souls, which were perhaps used in the privacy of the individuals' home altars instead of being displayed in public (see Figure 2). These crosses vary in size from approximately six inches up to eighteen inches or larger. Overall, the background color is generally black. On this surface, the decorative religious figures and symbolic adornments are added. I will not go into a detailed description, as basically these three-dimensional pieces are very similar to their cousins painted on tin. Many times they might have two or more carved souls on the top surface or ledge of the base. Sometimes, on the very bottom portion on the base, the male and female souls are shown as though being roasted by the fires of Purgatory. The way to differentiate these figures from one another is that the men usually are mustachioed and bearded, while the women are not. Most of the time, both sexes have shoulder- length hair. The breasts of women are hardly ever painted in any different manner than a man's chest. Some of the very basic cruces have no figures or any souls painted on the front of the base. It is to be noted that, although there are variations in the degree of ornamentation, the majority follows a very standard style. For a long time, I believed when there were figures shown on the front of the base or surface ledge, that all I had seen was an even number of souls. I have just been made aware of a couple of crosses that had an odd number of persons in both locations.

There apparently is a legend connecting the Otomí Indians and these souls of Purgatory in the region of San Juan del Rio , which is approximately thirty miles from the state capital of Querétaro. I have seen many wooden Cross of Souls for sale in Querétaro, whereas they were not so prevalent in other major towns. The legend relates to a painting that is located in the Santa Veracuz cemetery of San Juan del Rio in the section named La Cruz. This section was previously known as the Indian part because of the many native people and descendents of the Otomí race that were concentrated there. It was considered to be a very dangerous part of town in which many persons died fighting one another over their pagan or Christian beliefs.

A Christian Indian painter named Jerónimo lived in this neighborhood. He had learned his trade from his grandfather, who had been known, for his retablo painting abilities throughout the state. Jerónimo's passion and devotion was so fervent that he would often paint the figures of saints and virgins on street walls.

One night Jerónimo had a strange dream in which he was in Purgatory suffering from the heat of the flames. He noticed that he was in the midst of many other persons including bishops and other people of the church's hierarchy. He awoke and was relieved to be out of his supposed predicament.

One day his father sent him on an errand to the Church of Santa Veracruz . When he arrived he was asked to wait in a small office outside the sacristy. While the priest was out of the room, Jerónimo looked around and saw a large, magnificent painting of the Virgin of Carmel on the wall inside the sacristy. When he noticed the lower portion, he realized that it was the same scene that he had dreamt of not long ago. He recovered from his amazement and having pencil and paper handy, he quickly sketched the painting before the priest returned.

During the very devastating cholera epidemic of 1855 in San Juan del Rio , Jerónimo was one of those who died of this disease. Because of his impoverished condition, he was buried in a common grave of the recently established cemetery of the Indian neighborhood in which he lived.

Barely six months later, his friends and relatives began to clamor "miracle", which gave rise to the legend, which persists to this day. It began with a humid splotch on the wall of the common grave in which he had been interred. Little by little it began to transform into a splendid mural painting of the purgatorial scene with the usual souls in their suffering mode. It is believed that the individual on the right side of this composition, who is shown lifting his left arm to the heavens, is actually Jerónimo. This representation is said to be exactly like the sketch that Jerónimo had made at the sacristy with the exception that his own soul has been added.[4]

Moving on to the Cruz de Ánimas on tin, we note that there is very little difference in their overall presentation when comparing them to the wooden crosses (see Figure 3). The most notable change is that more often than not the names of the persons for whom the prayers and petitions should be made for are written at the very bottom of the retablos or even in the background space below the cross-members of the cross.

It is my opinion that retablos called La Alegoría de la Redención - The Allegory of the Redemption - are basically the same as the Cruz de Ánimas (see Figure 4). Generally, all the same elements are present in both these representations! In the allegorical paintings, the Crucified Christ is like a scene at Mount Calvary , with the Arma Christi - the Instruments or Symbols of the Passion - scattered about, if they are at all present. Other elements, such as the Sorrowful Mother, Saint Michael, Saint John the Apostle, the Holy Chalice, scene from the Garden of Eden, etc., are also depicted. Even the souls are placed towards the bottom edge. The major and perhaps only difference between these two manners of presentation is that the so-called allegorical retablos do not have the individual names spelled out. Thus, to call one the alegoría and the other the cruz is perhaps overburdening the very original and basic concept of redemption of souls, which both methods of depiction convey.

There is another retablo style that is perhaps related to the above two, which is extremely basic in its composition (see Figure 5). This type generally consists of a Crucified Christ located in the upper half - or perhaps Saint Michael or Our Lady of Carmel - and on the bottom half one sees the souls lined up in a background of red and yellow flames. The more accomplished renditions tend not to name the individuals shown in this purgatorial atmosphere, whereas the less formal might or might not name the individuals. In this subgroup, no other saints or any of the symbols of the Passion are present.

To round out the purgatorial spectrum, there is a grouping that I call the Ánima Sola - One/Only/Lonely Soul - retablo (see Figure 6). This type usually has only one sorrowful soul centered on the surface of the piece. It could be a man or woman in some cases; a youthful looking tonsured priest in other cases. This last one is probably based on the original, which is a canvas located in the Cathedral of Guadalajara. The bust of the priest has a background showing an oval-shaped opening that is barred. One should also not overlook what I typify as the sundry or unconnected individual souls who appear at the foot of and on one side of a saint. These are usually present in the 7" x 10" horizontal retablos, either on tin or wood as support, that have one or two saints shown.

Getting back to the reason for this article, what does the puzzling, turban-like cap shown with a red cross on the front mean? In his publication of the thesis for his master's degree, Mr. Jaime Morera states that the Tau cross is the sign of salvation and is derived from the ancient Egyptian belief of eternal life. He then gives us an example of a canvas painting that has two prisoners, one on either side of Our Lady of Carmel, with "the Tau on their cap."[5] Although these two individuals are not in Purgatory and no flames are visible, the crosses depicted in Figure 16 of his Page 127 are not Tau but rather the Latin or Greek cross, which have cross members of more-or-less equal length. By definition then, they are not Tau crosses. In a colored photograph that the author sent to me, the shape of the crosses is plainly discernible and appears to be blue in color (see Figure 7).[6] I have informed my friend Jaime of my opinions above.

The dress of the above two prisoners is duplicated in a retablo that I own. The individual is dressed in a white gown that has a white hood attached. This hood is in place and covers his head. As pointed out previously about Bustos' painting, where we are presented with people in different earthly estates who are identifiable by an item of headdress (Pope by the tiara), hair style (priests with tonsure, women with long hair, men with beards), and the color of their skin. What type of individual would wear cap-like headgear with a red cross on it? What group or position in society are they supposed to represent?

The following purgatorial representations, which have been discussed previously, generally do not have individuals with the red cross on their cap: the three-dimensional wooden Cross of Souls, the tin Cruz de Ánimas, the tin Alegoría de la Redención (the one I have described as very basic in composition of a Crucified Christ in a frame of clouds,[7] with souls scattered below), the Ánimas Sola on tin or canvas, and lastly the single purgatorial individual at the foot of a depicted saint. So where can one find any identification as to whom these particular individuals are supposed to represent?

While thumbing through a book on Spanish engravings, I came across one made by Andreas Rossi titled Justicia executada en la persona de Pedro Piñero, alias el Maragato - Justice done to Pedro Piñero, known as El Maragato (see Figure 8). Pedro apparently was a terrible bandit who was captured by Brother Pedro de Zaldivia, of the Order of San Pedro de Alcantara, on June 10, 1806 . The bandit was taken to Madrid and condemned to be hanged and quartered. This sentence was carried out on August 18, 1806 . This whole affair became such a cause celebre that even Francisco de Goya painted a series of six scenes of oil on panel depicting this event.

We probably are all aware of the garment that the individuals, who had been judged guilty by the Inquisition, wore. As Miles Philips wrote in his book The voyages and adventures of Miles Philips, "We had to wear San Benitos that were made of yellow cotton and red crosses upon them, before and behind." In the case of Pedro Piñero, we know that he was not a casualty of the Inquisition. His garb is apparently a white sort of shroud-like cover and not a San Benito , but what is of great interest is the cap that he wears, with a standard Latin cross on the front. I have not been able to find out the reason for this kind of dress and cap, but it would appear to be "standard issue" for condemned criminals. Unfortunately, the print does not show the color of the cross on the cap.

Not too long after this find, I saw a 7" x 5" tin retablo that I classified as a basic representation - Crucified Christ in the center spot and two chained souls on either side, with flames surrounding their lower torsos (see Figure 9). These two persons are bearded, have the white cap with red cross, and are wearing a white scapular that covers their front down to their midriffs. The interesting detail, in the left background, is a four-posted gallows with a white-gowned individual hanging or swinging from a red rope. Another person is up on a ladder and seems to be checking the tautness of the rope, while a third man on the ground appears to be reading from a Bible. Perhaps he is invoking Psalm 23. Thus, there seems to be an association or relationship, once again, of the turban-like head cover with a red cross and hanging.

I still was not very convinced that all the persons wearing this unusual head covering could actually be considered candidates for the gallows. In fact, I really could not accept this assumption at all, as it really does not fit the actuality of real life, even in the times when these paintings were produced. When I saw the retablo with a large golden monstrance in the central location, replacing the more frequent Crucified Christ, it reminded me that the Eucharist (Mass), in which the monstrance is used, was believed to be the best form of succor for the souls in Purgatory (see Figure 10). This same retablo has four men with their telltale caps with red cross and chained hands, individually surrounded with flames and all wearing a white scapular frock. That's when I came up with the idea that the individuals dressed this way are actually members of an Archconfraternity or Confraternity! I will not go into all the historical background of these societies, but the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Sacrament seems to fit this retablo. Others might be the Confraternity of the Most Precious Blood, or Souls in Need, or Mercy, or Compassion (Misericordia), or Holy Burial (Santo Entierro) and certainly the Poor Souls of Purgatory (Ánimas del Purgatorio). Of all the sodalities formed, these purgatorial societies seem to fit best.

Although I have seen but one retablo of San Camilo de Lelis, who is consoling or giving the extreme unction to a bed-ridden patient who happens to be wearing a cap with a cross emblem, I do not believe that all the turbaned persons we see in retablos came from a Camilian Hospital. This is emphasized by the fact that those patients were not shown wearing a scapular. I believe that the scapular was part of the dress of confraternities but cannot say that all fraternal groups used it. And yes, even the members of these respected religious confraternities could end up in Purgatory! Hence, it is my opinion that the individuals who are shown wearing a turban-like cap with a red cross on the front, represent the souls of members of a confraternity. To quote an anecdote of Mariano Monterrosa - "The idea of Purgatory prevails in Mexico as Christians do not wish to go to Hell."

[1] As a result of their research into Christian devotions in Mexico , it is the opinion of Mariano Monterrosa Prado and Leticia Talavera Solórzano that it was the Jesuits who fomented and consolidated this idea of Purgatory.

[2] Morera y González, Jaime Angel. Las Pinturas Coloniales de Ánimas del Purgatorio: Iconografía de una Creencia. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Mexico , D.F., 1999.

[3] Hermenegildo Bustos,1832-1907. Museo Nacional de Arte and Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, A.C. Mexico 1993. Photograph titled Escena del Purgatorio, on Page 27.

[4] I have based my remarks above, totally on Leyendas, cuentos y relatos sanjuanenses by Oscar García Martínez and more specifically on the chapter titled La leyenda de la pintura de las ánimas del purgatorio.

[5] Morera y González, Jaime Angel. Las Pinturas Coloniales de Ánimas del Purgatorio: Iconografía de una Creencia. Page 126 and photo on Page 127.

[6] Personal correspondence from Jaime A. Morera dated July 8, 1998 , from Mexico City .

[7] Just when one believes that everything that he has written is correct, out pops the big "E" - the Exception. I have seen a photograph of a tin retablo with the Crucified Christ, souls in flames, and names of the souls listed at the very bottom. Four of the persons have a white hood-looking cap with a red cross on the front. I believe this to be more of an exception to the rule and samples discussed above.