@mastersthesis {6482,
	title = {The Figural Arrangements of 18th-Century Churches in Mexico},
	year = {1979},
	school = {Yale},
	abstract = {The intent of this study was to determine whether images in in and on the churches of eighteenth-century Mexico were arranged according to discernible canons, and if so, whether any or all of those rules arose out of earlier traditions. Although the iconographic populations characteristic of various stylistically defined periods have been relatively well explored, the general placement of images has not been considered as a possible factor defining either style or iconography. This is especially true of eighteenth-century Mexican churches, whose ornamental splendors have always obscured their symbolic aspect. In attempting to ascertain the nature of figure placement, two basic procedures were followed. The first was a study of written sources, including published descriptions, official religious pronouncements, and artistic treatises from fifth-century Rome to eighteenth-century Mexico, as well as unpublished accounts from the whole Colonial period in Mexico. These sources not only offered concrete information regarding the appearance of destroyed or altered programs, but they also revealed the attitudes of their authors, if not their respective generations, toward the disposition of religious figures. Exploration of written works informed the interpretation of surviving visual evidence. This consisted of a general treatment of sixteenth and seventeenth-century Mexican churches, and comparison with European antecedents, out of which the eighteenth-century Mexican programs had evolved. The latter were then analyzed in light of their unique characteristics as well as their conformity to established traditions. What emerges from the monuments and the historical evidence is that despite the absence of comprehensive policies, certain implicit rules for general figure placement applied to facades, altarpieces and the interior layout of the church. These rules appear to have been obeyed at least as early as the immediate post-Tridentine period, regardless of the designation of the church. Within such broad guidelines, more specific, but similarly reasoned corollary patterns of arrangements varied according to the stylistic period and the iconographic preferences or requirements of the individual churches. While the selection of images was variable, the principles behind their placement were not. The iconographic programs of eighteenth-century Mexico are distinguished from their predecessors primarily by the incorporation of multitudes of figures, who represent all the subtle gradations within the sacred Christian hierarchy. This encyclopedic approach affected the impact of individual figures by necessitating a decrease in size, which in turn caused minor figures to recede visually into the decorative fabric. Such an approach did not, as some have suggested, compromise the established formulae: it merely expanded the range of their application.},
	author = {Anderson, Barbara C.}
}
