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The "Chicas" (girls). They are from California and going to be seniors in high school. They are here for 3 weeks. Jan is on the left; Ariel is on the right. |
This is the park next to San Sebastian. It is the large church in the North East part of Antigua. I have actually never been here before. |
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One of only two places in Antigua with giant Palms. |
This statue was given to the people of Guatemala from Spain. |
Picture shows it all. |
We were in this part of town to find an electrician. Maria Elsa has an electric "parilla" (grill) with a broken switch. Since the switch is plastic, it can't be fixed. So, first they checked to see how the switch worked. Once they were sure it was a part of the main circuit, they are going to put a thermostat into it, greatly improving its usefulness. Right now it is only on or off (actually it is only off). |
Son of the owner. He is sharp dresser, even at his age. |
Later that afternoon Manuel came in with something in his hand. |
A "pintura" (painting) to restore. It is from San Juan (by lake Atitlan). It is from one of their Cofradia (pagan temples). Could even be from the one I saw. It is the scene where Jesus is betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. From left to right: roman soldier; Peter; Jesus; Judas; soldier. Click for closer picture. |
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What great luck that Hugo, the ex-art teacher, was here. They talked and talked about the picture. I asked both about the technical side and the artistic side. Technical: the artist was a beginner, but very talented: probably indigenous. Manuel knows this because the artist's palette (color choices) are very basic. Same with the brush strokes. It will take Manuel a lot of time to match the colors and materials and to fix breaks in the painting. He told me that not only does he match the colors, but has to use the EXACT SAME colors to MAKE the materials: blood; plants; flowers; minerals. In the past an artist also had to be a naturalist and a chemist just to have the colors to start painting. Artistically: The painting shows the basic level of the artist because the facial expressions are not profound. That was Manuel's only big point. The artist couldn't make Jesus or the other express deep or complex emotions because he didn't have the technic...yet! Manuel likes the painting a lot and believes that, with training, this artist could have become very good. |
Soon Manuel grabbed some alcohol and cleaned part of the painting. I was actually shocked to see how seemingly rough he was with it. But he is the expert. Notice how clean it becomes with just a bit of time. He is only taking off smoke and grime. |
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