The churches of Mexico serve as a cultural and historical documents, providing silent but visual testimony to the tangible environment of the varying epochs of Colonial Mexico. A careful look at these buildings reflects the subtle changes in cultural and political thought, aesthetics, and even economic conditions over the centuries. They provide a glimpse of the setting in which people lived, worked, and worshipped in Colonial Mexico. These churches have never before been photographed so thoroughly to this extent, with such meticulous attention paid to their exuberant detail and splendor. In fact, this book includes photographs of interior statuary and decoration that have never been photographed at all. Under often difficult conditions and low lighting, it takes a master like Eliot Porter to produce such glowing and skillful records. On an extended trip through Mexico in 1956, Porter and a friend, New York photographer, Ellen Auerbach, traveled thousands of miles and visited several hundred churches and chapels. Much of what they photographed no longer exists today or has been considerably altered. Their archive, of which this book represents only a fraction, is a major record of one of Mexico's most important and beautiful institutions.
|
