“La Capilla del
Sagrario”, The Shrine Chapel
Art history in
west civilization came to the new world at the beginning of the end of the
gothic period and the beginning of the renaissance. In those times Spain was
still living in the dark ages of inquisition and the new ideas and style of the
renaissance came late to this country. When the Spanish came to South America
and begun the evangelization of the natives, they put all the efforts and
resources to expand the catholic faith in the new world. In spite of there was
not a genuine renaissance movement in America, we had developed an American
baroque with natives elements in architecture. A lot of churches were built
during 1600 and 1700. A very important and beautiful was the Capilla del
Sagrario, a small chapel located in Bogotá in the Bolivar Square.
In the next paragraphs I am going to present this iconic building of the
Bogotan society. The chapel does not only reflect the history of our country,
but it is a mix of styles and an important religious center. If someone comes
to Bogotá this church must be a destination.
I have chosen La
Capilla del Sagrario, one of the oldest churches in Bogotá, Colombia. This
church is a vivid example of what it is called the Neo Grenadine Baroque. The
Chapel is located at the west side of the Plaza de Bolívar in downtown Bogotá. (see pictures 1, 2) Its construction begun
in 1658 and it was finished after 40 years. The name of the architect was
Alvaro Saenz Camacho. The building like many of the artistic manifestations in
Colombia is a mix of styles, which combines the European baroque with the
Spanish colonial style and natives elements. The Façade is made of stone with
high relief and a big door in form of Romanesque arch. The Chapel is a Roman Catholic temple and it
is still used. The form of the chapel is a Latin cross (see Picture 3, 4) and
has a dome in exactly above the cross of the nave and the transept. The floor
is made of marble and the walls are decorated by paintings of the famous New
Grenadine painter Gregorio Vasquez de Arce y Ceballos. (see picture 5) In this
last picture we can see the form of a Latin cross and the dome in the middle. [i]
According to
Sanz de Santamaría, 1968, priest and guide of the Chapel: The Temple of one nave and two transepts has the widest light built in cover pair and
knuckle in Bogota: 14 castellan yards (12.18 m). Such cover is hidden by a
ceiling built at the end of the last century, which completely distorts the
interior of the Church. Externally, the Church lost the original main façade
and currently has a recent Tower. The adjacent cloister was built in two
stages. Its ground floor has semicircular arches cantered on the usual columns
in the era of Santa Fe (old name of Bogotá during colonialism), called
doric-toscanas. This type of structural support was so commonly used in the
interior of New Granada, which constitutes a typological constant.(see Picture
6) However, the upper floor of the cloister was made with broad buttresses and
wooden lintels, resulting in an abnormal set in which a light arches holding a
heavy high floor.[ii]
Ibañez
(1854-1919) in his chronicles of Bogotá, described the Capilla del Sagrario as
follows:
“The
temple is of stone, consists of a nave and two side chapels Latin cross-shaped;
It has elegant façade of Doric order, portico plateresque ornamentation carved
in stone, it reveals the advancement of the art of the stonemasons in those
years; on well tooled columns bears the coat of arms of Spain, one of the few
which were not destroyed a century ago, in 1813, when Nariño declared absolute
independence of the country. A round window gives light to the choir, and
crowned the façade, on wide cornice, two cattails that play the role of the
Tower, and reveal free space between
them including the elegant Orange Middle Temple, built by the Bogotan architect
Nicolás León. This beautiful cover contributes to severity and beauty to the
East side of la Plaza de Bolívar. On the door read, in letters of gold, these
inscriptions”[iii]
|
“SERVIR A DIOS
REINAR ES”
SERVING GOD IS REIGNING
|
“HONOR Y GLORIA SOLO
A DIOS”
HONOR
AND GLORY ONLY GOD
|
Although it has
been difficult to find electronic information about this beautiful
architectonic monument, it has been a challenge to search printed books and
talk with people about this iconic church that has the past of colony with
strong catholic beliefs and then the transformation from a colony into an
independent nation. This Church like in many European countries represents the
spirit of a people and has been a witness of the most important events of my
city and my country. It does not only represent the faith of people, it represents
us and it is a treasure that needs to be preserved.
The more I have
studied and researched this beautiful architectural masterpiece of the
pre-republican times, the more I have found treasures of our past. Like St.
Peter´s Basilica and other important churches in Europe, La Capilla del
Sagrario is a masterpiece in which so many artists had contributed.[iv]
Alvaro Saenz Camacho was the architect of the temple, Nicolás León designed the
dome, its interior is adorned by the paintings of the famous painter Gregorio
Vasquez de Arce y Ceballos and the baldachin was built by Miguel de Acuña.[v](
see Picture 6,7)
Talking about
the Capilla del Sagrario without taking into consideration the history of our
country is impossible. At the corner where the Chapel is located and close to
the cathedral, is the famous “casa del Florero” (House of the Vase). The Chapel
was witness of these events of the 20th of July 1810 and the
proclamation of our independence. This day was the beginning of what later (it
would) become the revolution of our independence. The last battle against the
Spanish regime was the battle of Boyacá, the 7th of august of 1819.
This battle was the final confrontation between the New Grenada Kingdom
(Today´s Colombia) and the Spanish Crown. In order to commemorate the victory over
the Spanish army, a mess was celebrated in the Capilla del Sagrario, as Sanz de
Santamaría (1968) related in his guide of the Chapel.
Many of our
important events of our recent republican history have occurred in the place
where the Chapel is located. Just to mention the most recent. Just a few blocks
from the Chapel a famous politician Jorge Eliecer Gaitán was shot the 9th
of April 1948. (There still gunshot in the façade of the Chapel). In 1989 the
M19, a guerrilla group took the palace of justice which is located in the north
side of the Bolivar Square. The Bolivar square is the heart of the city. It is
the iconic place for Colombian people to do demonstrations or celebrate. The
square is the place where cultural acts happen and it is also the place for
people to go and pray the Lord.
The Chapel of
Sagrario is just an old church for the majority of the people in Bogotá. Thanks
to the research and the analysis I have made, this little chapel is not just an
old building, it represents the spirit of many artists and devote believers
that put their best to build a beautiful building that reflects the passion and
the mix of cultures of the people of my city.
List of References
[i] Ortega Ricaurte, Carmen, (1926), Diccionario
de Artistas en Colombia
[iii] Ibáñez, Pedro María, (1854-1919); Crónica de Bogotá, Chapter XV, Retrived from http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/historia/crbogota/14.htm
[iv] Roberto Pizano (1926): "Gregorio Vásquez
de Arce y Ceballos". Camilo Bloch, Editor, París,. Roberto Pizano Restrepo
- Pablo Argáez Valenzuela: "Catálogo de las Pinturas de Gregorio Vásquez
de Arce y Ceballos". Camilo Bloch, Editor
[v] Acuaña, Luis Alberto (1964), Diccionario
biográfico de artistas que trabajaron en el Nuevo Reino de Granada. Ediciones
del Instituto Colombiano de Cultura. Bogotá
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