Y si no hubiésemos tenido políticos intolerantes y obsesionados con borrar por la fuerza el catolicismo en México, llevando al país a las tristemente conocidas "guerras cristeras" México seguiría lleno de bellísimas iglesias coloniales..si ya antes en la Revolución mexicana se quemaron cientos y cientos(probablemente incluso miles)de iglesias coloniales con sus irremplazables retablos platerescos,barrocos y neoclásicos,encima en los años 20 y 30 vino otra ola anticatólica que arrasó con otras tantas miles de iglesias por todo el país,encima era una minoría fanatizada(los llamados camisas rojas)los que entraban a las iglesias...sacaban todas las imágenes de santos y vírgenes y los amontonaban todos en mitad de las plazas donde allí mismo les prendían fuego...sólo Dios sabe la cantidad de obras de arte de la mejor calidad que se debió de perder para siempre y que jamás de los jamases los mexicanos podremos disfrutar(al menos los que tenemos esa sensibilidad estética,artística,cultural e histórica por nuestro pasado y riqueza patrimonial).Por desgracia lo que ahora nos queda es una triste insignificancia comparado con lo que debió de haber ya que sólo en la Ciudad de México en el Siglo XVIII había más de 25 conventos(sólo de monjas) y otros tantos de frailes,a eso hay que sumarle todas las decenas y decenas de parroquias,hospitales,capillas(todos esos edificios contaban con su respectivo templo y sus altares laterales) y por supuesto la enorme y grandiosa catedral...México(la Nueva España) en su mejor momento fue una prolongación exacta de España pero al otro lado del Atlántico y no cabe la menor duda de que debió estar a la altura de regiones españolas como la bellísima e incomparable Andalucía,en ciudades como Sevilla aún a día de hoy quedan más de cien iglesias centenarias en pié perfectamente conservadas...con sus más de mil retablos censados y decenas de miles de tallas policromadas y estofadas de los mejores artistas del barroco sevillano...digo todo ésto sobre Sevilla y Andalucía porque por suerte(y ahora por desgracia) nosotros en México fuimos una copia exacta de Andalucía tanto en cantidad como en calidad de nuestras iglesias,conventos,catedrales,etc...la pena es que no hemos sabido conservarlo,es cierto que comparado con el resto de países hispanoamericanos somos junto a Perú el que más arte sacro conservamos,sólo espero que lo que nos queda no siga disminuyendo por la desidia de los políticos,por los terremotos o por los atentados contra el arte sacro católico (como ya está pasando en países como Chile, Francia,Canadá,etc...)
There is a final step left in the spanish polychrome sculpture: The burnish of the oil paint with a lamb's bladder in order to smooth the surface left by the brush when you paint with oil. In spanish it's called: "Bruñido con vejiga de cordero". Anyway, this video is awesome and very didactic.
This polychromed sculpture techniques has been improved since Arcaic Mediterranean times. In fact this "imaginería" (the spanish name for this kind of sculptures) is direct inheritance of the "xoanon" (Ancient Greece monumental sculptures of deities made of wood and ivory, realistically painted, gilded and dressed in real clothes).
Amazing, the technique, the patience and time involved, the training, the tools. And this video was so well done, down to the amazing 3D rendering of the sculpture.
Thank you very much, It has really inspired me to refine my studies on pigments and applications there of. As an artist I am obsessed with color and how to preserve it while applying it to works, and have had little fortune in academic structure. That said, I really look forward to liberating myself of the burden of paying for paint which I feel in many ways cheapens the true value of the true craft of artistry. :D
That makes sense why Spanish Polychrome Sculpture can be fall under the "Uncanny Valley" level... they're really too realistic and creepy at some point, but beautiful at the same time. hmmm, what do you guys think?
I don't think they are creepy. Contrary to wax sculpture you never confuse them with real characters, no matter how realistic they try to be. We need to remember that original Greek sculptures were also polychrome.
Hispanic religious statues are a beloved and esteemed art form here in the Philippines. This carved type is called "de tallado" or "in the round", versus clothed mannequin-style saints. The heads and hands are sometimes made in one piece, of wood and for richer patrons, ivory. Encarna ("fleshing") and estofado (for the clothes) add to the realism and help devotees concentrate on the spiritual message of the image. Usually a Taller here is like the one that produced this image - family-run or a group of associates. They make religious images from mass-produced ones to bespoke works with gold-plated accessories and silk vestments that cost up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.
finally!.....i've been looking for this....now, i can understand how the Estofado technique is made... There are a lot of Estofado Santo sculptures here in the Philippines... and nobody knows the technique...
What a shame many many churches from the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines disappeared after the many earthquakes occurred in the archipielago throughout the centuries...but the worst of all was the bombing and complete destruction of the intramuros section(or colonial Manila) by the americans in WW2.
@jdmosaics Hi! Polychrome is a very antique technique of painting usually used on wood. Its paints are made of mineral pigments added a glue vehicle. The wood to be carved is so soft: in Brazil we employ cedar or mahogany. Why I know that? Because this is my job...see Olga Tukoff on web. Thanks for the beautiful and interesting video!
hello new friend here sharing my full support, watching from Hawaii thank you for sharing, stay safe and i will wait for your visit to my humble home. God bless
A very interesting video. It's a great pity the audio has gone out of sinc, as it ends abruptly, while the video runs in "real time." I hope there's a way to fix that.
Are they recreating a damaged piece? A lost piece? What are we supposed to gain by this demonstration of the least expensive and most efficient way to imitate ancient sculpture?
The original carved hand is smaller than life and more finely detailed hand. The copy is bigger, bigger is easier. Modern carve tools aren't good enough.
