The representations of the Lady of Sorrows like the one in question, along with those of the Christ child or the Crucified and the Nativity or Bethlehem sets, were, due to the number of them that were catalogued, these most in demand in Guatemalan workshops, both by the clients of the former General Captaincy and for export. They correspond to pieces in which a very close model is maintained and in which Mary participates in the ion of her Son. That is why they connect with the idea that we have expressed in another data sheet of this “multiple art” collection. Furthermore, in this case, and as is also the case with the images of the Infant, they are pieces that have a certain versatility, since due to the layout they can serve as pieces of a set or as individual versions.
Similar to this common design, this effigy insists on showing the Virgin standing, with her head slightly raised, inclined and tilted, with her afflicted countenance. She presents her arms at the height of her chest, following a supplicatory posture by having her hands together and fingers crossed. It is at this point in the arrangement of arms and hands where we are going to find what is perhaps the element that usually distinguishes these representations. Thus, the one described is repeated, for example, in the Sorrowful Virgin that is part of the Calvary complex, also belonging to the institution, or in two of those exhibited by the Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City, in addition to those of the Museum of Colonial Art in Antigua Guatemala and the Popol Vuh Museum at the Francisco Marroquín University of Guatemala, to name some of the best known. Another model is in which her hands are open and crossed, resting them gently on her chest, and whose main reference would be the Sorrowful Virgin who is part of the Calvary with the Christ of Esquipulas. A third type is added to the previous ones, in which the closed composition that predominates in those already mentioned is dispensed with, and the Virgin is chosen to be shown with open arms. As references, we could refer to the famous Sorrowful Virgin of the Archbishopric Chapel, in the Guatemalan capital, and in the same city the so-called Sorrowful Virgin of Peace of the temple of Our Lady of Peace, whose documentation, found in the piece itself, refers to the fact that it was made by the sculptor Martín Abarca in 1802 and polychromed by his brother Leandro, a year later.
Returning to the comparative description of our piece, of the garments it wears and as with other examples, the interiors are barely glimpsed; at most the edges of the shirt sleeves. Over them she wears a long talar tunic that reaches to the floor and with the sleeves turned up, revealing the difference in fabrics. In line with almost stereotyped models, she is also wearing a veil, in which, in addition to the color, always white, the change in morphology in the folds shows the search to represent a lighter fabric that is different from the rest of the thick and heavy brocade fabrics. The clothing is completed with the cloak that covers the head and then runs along the entire back, the most common being the front crossing of one part to the forearm on the opposite side where it is held and folded, just as it happens on the other end of the textile piece.
As is the case with other types of very popular representations to which these artists of the former Central American Captaincy General were assiduous, in the mourning versions of the Virgin it is also common to find these models in different formats. The disparate sizes of the works already mentioned and those intended for export attest to this; we can corroborate these variations between that of the Soumaya Museum, larger than those of the Franz Mayer Museum, and these in relation to the one we are dealing with, but we also have other smaller ones preserved in different private Mexican collections.
For the same reason of the artistic and commercial success that we have been pointing out to this and the other pieces of the same origin that the Amparo Museum has, as is the case with some representations of the Birth of Christ, we are going to find that in the iconography that we treat we also have works in which wood carving works are combined with alabaster carving for heads and hands. A good number of them are known, among which are some of the most representative or famous, such as the one in the Soumaya Museum. In this regard, and although it cannot be considered as a Guatemalan sculptural typology, since other Hispanic production centers also displayed this mixture of materials, the reality of the number that is known does indicate a certain preference in its use. The above must be related to the predisposition of the workshops to satisfy a part of the market that was looking for images where the particularity of the material gave them an even more outstanding level.
To conclude with this approach and in tune with the latest themes, that of the carved fabrics and the materiality in the imagery that we are dealing with, we will point out some elements concerning their models and execution techniques, which are common and notable in all the pieces of same origin of this collection. In relation to the first and their reference models, it had already been pointed out in various publications that these should be sought in the fabrics of the period. In fact, systematizing the patterns of a high number of polychromes of pieces preserved both in Guatemala and outside its borders, and this is what happens in this image of the Sorrowful Virgin, has led us to establish that they were the famous and widely disseminated rich brocade fabrics from the factories of Lyon, , the most modern and important of their time, which must have served as the first model for the polychromes. Later, the proven skill of its creators was what led to generating multiple permutations in their designs.
As for the technique they used to imitate and make versions of them, the scientific analyzes that we have recently been conducting on different pieces, including some in this Museum, show their laborious and complex technical process. Although they maintain much of what is usual in the techniques of Hispanic polychrome sculpture, we find that they are extensive works in which the selection of high quality materials and the superimposition of techniques stand out. Thus, the first layers mark the base of the fabrics, placing special emphasis on generating textures on the metallic layers, and then adding the volumes of the fabrics based on what is called cizado, a thick and malleable paste that is also gilded or silver, to finally work with corlas or brushes on the floral decorations and the borders of the designs.
Indicative bibliography:
Brenda Janeth Porras Godoy. El retablo y la esculura en Guatemala, siglos XVI al XIX. Sevilla, Universidad de Sevilla, Departamento de Historia de Arte, 2015, (tesis para optener el grado de doctor).
Edna Núñez de Rodas, “El maestro estofador de la purísima de Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala”, Historia y antropología, Ensayo en honor de J. Daniel Contreras R., Jorge Luján Muñoz ed. Guatemala, Universidad de San Carlos, Guatemala, Facultad de Humanidades, 1982, págs. 105-120.
Haroldo Rodas. “La Dolorosa”, en Tesoros del Museo Soumaya de México, siglos XV-XIX. Madrid/Bilbao, Museo Soumaya, BBVA, 2004, págs. 242-244.
J. Haroldo Rodas E. (Coordinador general). Pintura y escultura hispánica en Guatemala, Guatemala. Gutemala, Dirección General de Investigaciones, Escuela de Historia de la Universidad de San Carlos, 1992.
Pablo F. Amador Marerro. “Una mirada foránea: aportaciones a la escultura guatemalteca”, en Anales de la Academia de Georafía e Historia de Guatemala, (en prensa).
Rafael Ramos Sosa. “Entre la imaginería y la estatuaria: un ejemplo de la coyuntura artística en Guatemala, a propósito de una Dolorosa de Martín Abarca”. Laboratorio de Arte, 24, 2012, págs. 489-509.
