Project

Apostle Santiago Church was built in the 18th century in the Michoacán Sierra to form part of a huatápera, or hospital complex. (...)

Apostle Santiago Church was built in the 18th century in the Michoacán Sierra to form part of a huatápera, or hospital complex. The complex was built by the Spanish Renaissance humanist and bishop of Michoacán, Vasco de Quiroga, who was sent to the New World by the Spanish Crown to investigate accusations of improper conduct being leveled against the conquistadors. The church’s interior is elaborately decorated in the Mexican Baroque style, which combined mudéjar carpentry and paintings done in the maque technique, a pre-Hispanic painting method that incorporates natural oils and minerals. The painted, exposed wood structure, including the coffered ceiling, was subject to insect infestation, fungal attack and exposure to moisture, leaving the interior finishes with iconographic paintings and decorative paint on the architectural elements in poor condition.