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The conventions of the classical statuary
The reinvention of an artistic code in the Americas
By Orestes del Castillo
The Spanish Crown was the first colonial power to bring a formal code
of design to the Americas. The plaza was the heart of every new town, be
it founded by the conquerors or, as in many cases in Central and South
America, built over the ruins of a destroyed Amerindian city. The picota
and the cross law and religion- were the first icons of the new monumentality
in the Americas.
The development of art and architecture as the means of expression of the
economical, political, military and ecclesiastical classes conferred a
ceremonial character to the buildings and the spaces they surrounded. Whenever
the powerful patrons and colonial rulers wanted to leave their mark in
the history of their new city, artists and architects were commissioned
to transform the everyday realm into ritual spaces. The marks they left
survived natural and man-provoked catastrophes shaping the lives of the
inhabitants of the cities as they shaped the cities themselves.
The history of a city can be read through the history of its commemorative
monuments and utilitarian buildings. It is very noticeable that many of
the buildings and facilities that are considered monuments today are utilitarian
structures from yesteryear, this is the case of plazas, commercial and
administrative buildings, ramparts, fortresses and fountains. Architecture
was linked to sculpture and painting, benefiting private space as much
as public space.
The American Baroque was born in the Spanish colonies where the imagination
and science of the imported European masters met the outstanding craftsmanship
of the natives. Nature's exuberance and the creative mentality of the American
born artists produced a characteristic style that left no empty spaces
in any surface, as if they suffered from horror vacui, or the terror to
the void. The overdecorated retables of the churches of Peru, Mexico and
Central America are the result of a syncretism between the colliding arts
and artisans -the mutual discovering cultures- from America and Europe.
In the case of Brazil, the religiosity of the Portuguese architects found
its match in the sculptural ability of the African slaves. The symbiotic
union of these apparent contraries produced many examples of a lively Baroque.
In the Caribbean, the soft stone of the islands and the sharp cast shadows
under the strong sunlight brought the artisans to an unique way of sculpting:
the architectural masses were married in a game of volumes, light and shadows,
the walls followed sensual curves and the saints looked at the city from
an exuberant jungle of stone. Europe, Africa and the Americas were united
in a sort of chaudron aux melanges and the Creole monumentality conquered
the American mainland.
The architectural and sculptural works of our historical monuments were
the produce of a dictum of formal conventions and codes that was established
as a universal plastic language. These laws were followed through the centuries
after the discovery of the New World to the present day, but they incorporated
the genius of the local artists to the European traditions. Some of the
design rules listed hereafter permit a better understanding of different
idioms, nuances and dialects of the urban language, being the classical-figurative
iconography the common origin for all the variations.
Monumental sculpture has a particular convention related to the language
of architecture. Monuments and the memorials are built after the classical
temple tradition and the Renaissance, Mannerist or Baroque fashion. The
Amerindian and African influences are evident not only on the physical
traits of the portrayed, but also in the representation of nature and a
religious cosmogony.
Pagan and Christian myths were the main theme in monuments as well as in
fountains, pantheons, memorials or any other commemorative structure. The
Greco-Roman mythology and the New and Old Testaments provided a very effective
source of inspiration to the most outstanding monuments in Europe. This
tradition was imported to the New World, where it mixed with local mythologies.
The line between sculpture and architecture became very thin, especially
in the interior of churches, parks, gardens, plazas, cemeteries, and façades
in general.
The classical orders of architecture, as they are used in the design
of monuments, are generally associated with the gender of the portrayed
person. More than one order can be combined in a monument, making it suitable
for both genders.
In the Neo-Classical period of the eighteenhundreds, after the independence
wars, a significant quantity of monuments was built in Latin America and
the United States. The classical monumentality was adopted to represent
the birth of the new American republics.
Greek Orders:
Ionic: Associated to heroes or Gods
Doric: Associated to heroines or Goddesses
Roman Orders:
Ionic: Male
Doric: Female
Tuscan: Male
Corinthian: Female
Composite: Both
The portrayed
In the classical -or classical inspired- iconography the honored ones can be portrayed in a form of a bust or full size standing on a pedestal or sitting on a throne-like chair. The scale goes from life-size to larger than life and the portrayed can be represented nude, semi-nude, wearing a classical tunic or the clothing proper to the epoch and the trade, social condition or profession that is adequate. The sculpture can be placed in an open space such as a piazza or inside a memorial building which must sit on a relevant site and be open to the public, usually open pantheons or temple-like buildings.
Intellectuals, artists and scientists: They are represented in a contemplative attitude, absorbed in their thoughts or work. The clothing must be a classical tunic or an accurate reproduction of the garments from their historical period. They can also wear attributes of their art, decorations or hold their instruments of work in their hands. These statues must be placed on a simple pedestal, standing or seating, and in some cases a female figure can introduce them with a gesture. They can hold olive branches or wear laurel wreaths, symbolizing their achievements.
Sportpersons: They are represented in the nude (total or partial) sometimes wearing tunics, but the artist can always choose to reproduce their uniforms. Olive branches and laurel wreaths, medals and the attributes or instruments of the given sport are not infrequent.
Politicians: Most of the time they are represented as if engaged in the exercise of the oratory, with the natural gestures of that activity or while writing the laws. They must be dressed according to the epoch they lived in.
Religious: They must be portrayed as dressed in their liturgical
garb, proper of their religious denomination or order, in the attitude
of preaching, evangelizing or praying.
Military: The military must be portrayed in their full uniform,
in the most accurate rendition possible, documented after the usage of
their particular armed force corps at a determined epoch.
Standing figures must be represented in attention for funerary monuments
for known and unknown soldiers as well; looking to the horizon, uncovered
and unarmed if the monument commemorates missing in action personnel or
prisoners of war. These rules are also valid for missing sailors and aviators.
If the soldiers are depicted in action with full uniform, equipment and
weaponry it means that they were killed in a battle.
For equestrian monuments: If the horse has its four legs on the
ground it means that the rider was not killed in action. In this case the
rider must have his head covered and must not be holding his weapons. When
the rider was wounded in a battle, the horse is depicted with one of its
fore legs rose. The rider should hold his weapons in combat ready position
and must have his head covered. A horse standing on its hind legs means
that the rider was killed in combat. In this case the rider's head must
be uncovered and the figure must be represented as if engaged in action.
The language of symbols in buildings and monumental sculpture
The classical examples of composition based in the pyramid or other solids
generated by using the golden section. Elements of sacred geometry set
effective guidelines in the conception of a monument, besides its set of
symbols and attributes. To the trained eyes, those symbols have a perfect
grammar and syntax and they communicate a message breaching the spoken
languages' barriers. Numerology and sacred geometry define the design.
Architects and builders were represented holding the square and the compass,
symbols of their profession, along with tools proper of the trades of stone
cutting, carpentry and masonry.
Key to the interpretation of the symbols as used in sculptures and funerary
decorations
The symbology used in burial grounds goes beyond the meaning of the norma
language of traditional sculpture. Many religious sects, trades, guilds,
social groups, secret societies and fraternities have their own, and they
are not always coincident with the meaning of the classical statuary.
For example, in the Necropolis of Colon, in Havana, there are many sign
associations with pagan cults. In other cases, secret societies have their
own codes. The Masons have their system, and each Loggia or Rite has a
very precise way to express its message. Catholic tombstones and mausolea
have the most expanded symbolical system in the Necropolis although reminiscences
of the classical antiquity and the Egyptian funerary architecture can be
found.
There are monuments with sculptural portraits of the deceased. Others myths,
histories or describe traditions; guarding dogs, dominoes, a chess king,
musical phrases, allegories to maternal or spousal love, tools of a trade,
sports and lifestyles. Those ones are easier to read, since they speak
a clear language.
Heraldry is also a very useful field of knowledge in tracing the ancestry
of different families. A diversity of coats of arms can be observed in
several pantheons. Also, a person of Gypsy origins (the chariot wheel,
the leaves of grass, clan symbols), Muslim religion (the crescent moon)
or Jewish ancestry (pentagram or hexagram) can also be identified by some
of those symbols, the same applies to old slaves and their progeny (chains,
labor tools, African symbols, Afro-Caribbean Saints and their attributes)
The Catholic hierarchy usually has its graves decorated with: The vesica
piscis, alpha and omega, the Greek ciphers for Jesus Christ, a lamb, a
mitre, a baculus, tabernacles, Latin, Greek, Maltese or Papal crosses,
crowns of thorns, chalices, symbols of their order and other liturgical
allegories.
The symbols of divine healing: A resurrecting Lazarus, crutches
The symbols of miracles: bread and fish.
The symbols of the passion of Christ are very often found, in a diversity of monuments, they are: The nails, the crown of thorns, the sacred heart, the Veronica veil, the chalice, the spear and the sponge, the levitating resurrected Jesus Christ.
Hope: Anchors, ships, lighthouses
Salvation: Dolphins, fragments of wood
Death: Broken columns, covered or broken obelisks, funerary urns, tilted crosses, inverted torches, hourglasses, bats, skeletons and scythes or skulls
Victory, glory, excellence: Laurel branches or wreaths. Winged female figure "Victoria"
Peace: Olive branches or wreaths
Friendship, integrity: Shaking hands
Farewell: An open hand
Faith, religiosity: Joined hands
Immortality: Ivy, obelisks, classical columns, eternal flames,
the peacock, trefoil and quatrefoil, grapes
Resurrection: Obelisks, pyramids, octagons, levitating figures,
the rooster, the dove, the cat, the fish, angels, grapes, blossoming plants
Divine vision: Eye, tarot cards
Knowledge: Open book, owls, bats
Purity, chastity, virginity: Lilies, lambs, doves, glass
Loss of an offspring: A maternity i.e. a mother and a child,
a pieta, i.e. a woman embracing a dead young man or young woman in the
case of a grown son or daughter
Generosity: A cornucopia full of fruits
Innocence: A blindfolded angel or young person
Children: Lamb or cherub
Adults: Funerary urns
Strength: Fascia of arrows or branches
Temporality of life: Leaves
Journey through life: Sea shells and conchs
Love: Roses
Humility: Pansies
Fertility: Grapes and fruits
Masonery: Square and compass; level, plumb and square; compass
and pencil
Rosacrucians: A rose in the intersection of the arms of the
cross
Beginning and end: Greek characters Alpha and Omega
Fidelity: Horses, dogs, doves
Resignation: Swan
Cycle of life: Sun and Moon, chariot wheel or the wheel of
fortune
Sacrifice: The lamb, the pelican
Reincarnation: The chalice, the grapes, the wheat
Passage: The passage between life and death is symbolized
by a body of water, be it a peaceful pond or a slow stream, the renewed
life is represented by a fountainhead. This resource is used in parks or
landscaped cemeteries
Jesus Christ Savior: JHS, IHS, YHS, IXS, XRS, JHM "Jesus
Hominum Salvator", are often combined with the Alpha and Omega and
the Greek characters to design Jesus Christ.
Latin inscriptions are frequently observed and all of them have a literary
meaning. Inscriptions in other languages generally reveal the ethnic or
cultural background of the deceased. Biblical quotations from the Old and
New Testaments are not very frequent. Liturgical phrases from the Catholic
ritual are found in priests' or nuns' graves. However, the most common
epitaphs for
the generality of people are written by a family member or are customary
phrases.
Key to the interpretation of the numbers
The magic numbers have been part of the Christian design tradition since
the Low Middle Ages. Diverse religious and philosophical messages were
transmitted through the language of numbers and proportion. The perfection
of God was expressed in a numerological way also by the Islam and the Judaism,
in their own variances, but the symbolic value of the numbers and geometrical
figures associated to them have similar meanings. The Freemasons and the
Rosacrucians have used these codes extensively. Cathedrals, temples, civil
buildings and sepulchers were frequently designed by architects, builders
or sculptors initiated in these traditions, who expressed their recognition
to the universality of God.
Zero: The Chaos, the point of Origin of Universe. The
Universality of God. Associated with the circle, the infinite. The Sphere.
One: The Supreme Intelligence of Creation. The Unity of God.
The point.
Two: The Duality of Jesus as The Son of God in a Human Body
and God himself. The Straight Line.
Three: The Holy Trinity, The Father the Son and the Holy
Ghost. The Holy Family. Faith, Charity and Hope. These properties are associated
with the Triangle.
Four: The Four Evangelists and their works; John, Mark, Luke
and Matthew. The Four Cardinal Points; North, East, South and West. The
Four Basic Elements in Alchemy; Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. The stages
of Human life: Birth and Childhood, Youth,Maturity,Elderly age and Death
Associated with the square, the beginning and end of the life cycle.
Five: The five wounds of Christ. The Pentateuch or the Five
Books of the Jewish People. The five pointed star, in which are inscribed
the ideal human proportions, or The Perfect Pentagram. Associated with
the pentagon. The five pointed star must be oriented with one of the points
to the heaven to behold this meaning, otherwise it means a Satanic symbol
associated to the Cult of Baal, because of the resemblance to a Goat's
Head, representation of Satan. A reversed five pointed also means a state
of war, as in the Cuban Independence Wars, when the symbology was taken
as an expression of belligerence.
Six: The combination of the meanings associated to number
Three. Associated with the Hexagon. The Cube, a solid with six square faces.
Associated with the six pointed star, the Star of Bethlehem, which guided
the Three Kings to Baby Jesus and for the Jewish; the Star of David, also
known as the Perfect Hexagram
Seven: The Seven Capital Virtues in opposition to the Seven
Capital Sins. The Seven Lamps of Wisdom. Associated with the Heptagon.
The diameter of a given circle, if divided by seven can generate the following
basic polygons: Triangle, Square, Pentagon, Heptagon, Eleven sided polygon
and Twenty One sided polygon
Eight: The virtuous and pious life, still Human but in the
Way of Learning, The True, in the Quest for Perfection. The polygonal shape
of the Octagon is closer to the circle. Regeneration of Life, Resurrection.
Nine: The harmonic division of the side of the square in
thirds will give us nine squares, this kind of division of the square is
typological in the proportioning urban plazas and patios. The Holy Trinity
triplicated in each one of its members. The combination of the meanings
of number Three. Nine sided polygon.
Ten: The Ten Commandments. Associated with a double pentagon
and with a double five pointed star. Each of these figures describes a
ten sided polygon.
Eleven: The Apostles minus Judas the traitor. The eleven
sided polygon.
Twelve: The Apostles. The tribes of Israel. The twelve pillars
of Civilization. Double hexagon and double six pointed star. Dodecaedrum,
twelve faced solid of pentagonal sides. Twelve sided polygon. The Twelve
Signs of Zodiac.
Thirteen: Jesus and the Apostles in the Last Supper. The
Fate and Destiny. The Ultimate Sacrifice. Some cultures consider the Thirteen
a bad luck number. Lucky number for others.
The interpretation of statuary and building designs is more accessible
by knowing the aforementioned codes. The references to the meanings of
symbols and geometrical patterns reflect the knowledge of sacred geometry
and numerical relationships.
The design of new monuments in the spirit of our traditions must respect
these conventions and visual language. Designers should be encouraged to
use this system of symbols to create new statements depicting the complexities
of contemporary society without disregarding its past.
Our culture deserves to be observed and preserved in a respectful way.
Every corner in our old cities is inhabited by an anonymous form of art.
Our new cities need our modern history to be present in their plazas and
street corners, civic buildings and monuments, the private house and the
corporation headquarters. The rich tradition of the Americas should not
be relegated to the oblivion in favor of a simplistic or commercial approach,
since we cannot afford to forget where we come from and not to know where
we go. Otherwise, the protagonists of the everyday eternal play staged
around the architecture of the city will not forgive us.
By Orestes del Castillo
del.castillo @juno.com
Works Consulted
A Dictionary of Symbols.
Juan Eduardo Cirlot. Dorset Press, New York, 1971
La escultura monumental en la Habana
Moises Bazan de Huerta, Universidad de Extremadura, 1994
