Monasteries of San Juan Bautista in Tetela del Volcán and Tlayacapan

World Monuments Watch
Tetela del Volcán and Tlayacapan, Mexico

1998 World Monuments Watch

For the first several decades after the Spanish colonialists arrived in Mexico, a furious convent and church building campaign began with the arrival of Christian missionaries. Many of the structures hearkened to sober medieval European styles but were infused also with Renaissance flourishes and references to native mythology. Brother Juan de la Cruz from Spain was among the most prolific builders, and his convent at Tetela exemplifies his aesthetic ideals: a carved wooden sacristy, light-filled cloister walks, an overall symmetry. Like similar buildings of its type, the nearby San Juan Bautista Monastety in Tlayacapan (not by Brother Cruz) is the focus of a purely colonial town grid. The buildings share another similarity beyond aesthetic integrity: severe decay. They require considerable repair and reintegration of missing structural members. This stabilization is urgent because of the current activity at the nearby volcano, Popocatepetl.

Since the Watch

At Tetela del Volcán, exterior repairs were undertaken, and the 16th century colonial mural decoration was restored starting in 2003. The project was carried out by students and instructors of the Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía with the support of Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Layers of soot accumulated from the use of the building as a barracks during the Mexican Revolution were removed. Guided by archival material, the restorers completed areas of loss following the technique of tratteggio, which is designed to make these modern interventions discernible at close inspection. Open arches were glazed, to protect the restored murals. This comprehensive conservation project was completed in 2009. January 2011

Last updated: June 2018.

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