In early memory
Mission music
Was ringing ‘round my nursery door
Paul Simon, Under African Skies
When the Spanish invaded and conquered much of the American south west, one of their first acts was to build missions. They claimed they were saving the souls of the indigenous ‘heathens’ but they had a much more worldly agenda. Their motivation was to subdue, control and in due course employ the local population to exploit the resources of their newly acquired territory.
The missions provided a base from which to pacify resistance and introduce European ways, not just of worship but also agriculture and lifestyle. They also brought European diseases to which the native people had little or no acquired immunity.
At the heart of each mission was its church:
Of earth, stones, and timber, but mostly earth, hulking pylonlike in silhouette, heavy, inert, functional, seemingly immutable but ever crumbling—praised, damned, and belatedly praised again—the Spanish mission churches of New Mexico issued from a union of European ideals and an outlandish environment.
https://npshistory.com/publications/kessell/nm-missions/introduction.htm
While their origins may lie in conquest and subjugation, the mission churches in New Mexico are undeniably beautiful. The adobe structures were modelled on European notions of what a church should look like, adapted to local materials. Edges were softened, decorations minimalised. It’s impossible to carve adobe as you can stone, but in the place of ornate carvings was a more simple, organic beauty.
The typical church included an artio, a walled yard in front of the church that sometimes served as a cemetery. One or two corner towers flanked the front walls of most, usually topped by a wooden cross and a bell. The large wooden door at the centre of the front wall led into a large, windowless interior space, usually without benches or seats. Worshippers stood or knelt on the earthen floor.
For this week’s Monochrome Madness our host Dawn has asked us to share images of Places of Worship. A great choice of theme but how was I to be selective among the hundreds of such photos I must have taken over the years, and all over the world?! I decided to focus on a single destination and have chosen New Mexico because the Spanish missionary churches there are so beautifully simple. Their adobe structures and clean lines seemed perfect to meet another challenge at the same time, Becky’s Geometry Squares. After all, why take on one challenge if you can take on two at once?! By the way, if you’d prefer to see some images of these churches in colour, have a look at my 2021 post, Following the High Road to Taos.
My feature photo, not squared, is of the church in Socorro
San Francisco de Assisi, Ranchos de Taos, famously photographed by Ansel Adams
San Francisco de Assisi, Ranchos de Taos
San Francisco de Assisi, Ranchos de Taos
San Francisco de Assisi, Ranchos de Taos
to see more of my photos taken here have a look at my gallery from four years ago
San Lorenzo de Picuris
San José de Gracia Church, Las Trampas
A tower of San José de Gracia Church, Las Trampas
Nuestra Senora del Sagrado Rosario, Truchas
Above the gate of San Geronimo de Taos, Taos Pueblo
Bell tower of the old San Geronimo de Taos, Taos Pueblo
(destroyed by cannon fire during the Mexican-American War, 1846, but left standing)
San Esteban, Acoma Pueblo
See my earlier post for more about this pueblo, one of the most fascinating places I have ever visited.
I visited New Mexico in 2011
11 Comments
thehungrytravellers.blog
And what’s more, my comment posted straight away without lingering! Yay!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Using religion as a cover to seek your own gratification. How despicable. Imagine that happening today. Hmmm. However the Spanish architectural legacy in the Americas is fabulous, and its influence still so strong.
Anne Sandler
These churches are beautiful in black and white Sarah. I think the lack of color shows more of the material and the architecture. Here in California, we have the El Camino Real, a series of 21 churches established by Father Junípero Serra, I’ve seen a lot of them and they are beautiful in their simplicity.
BeckyB
the monochrome shows of the beauty of their simplicity as well as providing a glimpse of the control which came with Europeans and their missions
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Becky, I feel the same about the monochrome emphasising the simplicity of the adobe structures 🙂
Sue
Ranchos de Taos is definitely beautiful in its simplicity, and the tower of San José de Gracia something else…
Sarah Wilkie
Definitely Sue 😀 I was thrilled to see Ranchos de Taos for myself, but San José de Gracia was also a favourite for me! Sadly we couldn’t get inside either 🙁
bushboy
Lovely images Sarah
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian 🙂
restlessjo
These are striking images, Sarah. Beautifully done!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jo 😊 They are striking buildings!