VRC Exhibition | Restoring Cultural Monuments: Oaxaca, Mexico
Assistant Professor Benjamin Ibarra Sevilla contributed images in this exhibition documenting the restoration of Santo Domingo de Guzmán and the Open Chapel of Teposcolula in Oaxaca, Mexico to the school’s Visual Resources Collection (VRC). Over 900 images documenting these restoration projects—including contributions from Professor Ibarra Sevilla’s colleagues—have been digitized from the original 35mm slides and catalog records have been created through a partnership with Artstor, a nonprofit resource that provides a growing collection of over 1.8 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences. Images and associated catalog records will be made available in the VRC’s Online Image Collection and Artstor’s Digital Library, which serves educators, scholars, curators, librarians, and students at more than 1,500 educational and cultural heritage institutions in 48 countries worldwide.
Santo Domingo de Guzmán is one of the largest monastical buildings in Mexico built during the 16th and 17th centuries. The building was dedicated to the studies and the monastic life of the Dominican monks who originated the building. The restoration of this magnificent building began in 1994 and was completed in 2000. The work focused on the reestablishment of the original characteristics of the building, including those elements that would guarantee its structural integrity. The project involved the participation of archeologists, architects and restorers who coordinated hundreds of masons, technicians, and specialists intervening the building.
The Open Chapel of Teposcolula is often recognized as the most important structure of its type in the Americas. Built during the sixteenth century, this open chapel holds a monumental scale and a late-gothic ribbed vault of hexagonal plan, which is unique in the entire world. The late 19th century saw the collapse of the ribbed-vault due to the combination of the lack of maintenance and the earthquakes hitting the region. The reconstruction of the vault began in 1995 and was completed in 1999. The work focused on the reestablishment of the original characteristics of the building—taking as a premise—the structural integrity. The project involved the participation of architects who coordinated tens of stonemasons, technicians, and specialists intervening the building.