Bonampak’s Temple of the Murals and Mayan Drinks.

The Procession of Musicians in Room 1 of the Temple of the Murals in Bonampak as they appear on the walls some 1200 years after they were initially painted.

When we think of murals, especially frescoes (paintings done in wet plaster), our minds go immediately to a place like Italy, where in the Renaissance great masters like Botticelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo painted marvelous stories on the walls of the great cathedrals, monasteries, and public buildings. Yet in 790 AD in the rain forests of Chiapas, King Chan Muan, himself both a vassel of the more powerful king of Yaxchilan and married to a princess from that city-state, inaugurated this temple of murals with great ceremony and celebration. The question remains as to why the extraordinary quality and craftsmanship of these paintings were done in fresco and what exactly they mean to tell us. Regardless, they remain the finest example of painting in the pre-Columbian New World.

Maya civilization, Mexico, 9th century A.D. Reconstruction of Bonampak frescoes. Room 1: procession of musicians. Detail. britannica.com Click image to magnify.

The contrast is quite stark between the reconstructed versions of the murals and the way they look in situ on the walls of their temple in the forests of southern Mexico. Somehow the reconstructed ones don’t let the viewer fill in the richness of their ceremonial dress, imagine the sounds coming from the oversized rattles, or feel the slow rhythm of their movement. Yes, the rhythm of the movement, for this was a procession of time. Archeologists have noted that each of the five musicians with those rattles hold them in a position that represents one part of a complete movement of the ratttle. It is almost like a serialized version of a cartoon flip book, which if flipped rapidly, gives the impression of fluid movement. mayagodsoftime.com

Reconstruction of the Procession of the Gods of Time from Britannica.com Click image to magnify.

The temple, which consists of three rooms, each showing a different phase of a great celebration and the presentation of a royal dynasty, was re-discovered by archeologist Giles Healey in 1946. I say re-discovered because the local Lacondon tribes people used the buildings in the vacinity of the temple as a special place of worship. They showed him the temple, which was shrouded in lots of vegetal overgrowth. Healey had that vegetation removed, which allowed the variations in climate to enter the temple which had been protected from such for centuries. Fortunately, he also hired local artists to paint copies of the scenes on the walls, and it is from those copies that there is a record of how vibrant the original colors were. What we have now are the faded versions that have reacted to the elements of the rotating rainy and dry seasons that make up the climate of the region.

Of the three great Mexican muralists, both Diego Rivera (seen here) and José Clemente Orozco claimed that mural painting was a key part of the ancient Mexican past. However, it was Rivera who insisted that his rather heavy-set figures were actually a truly authentic Mexican style of painting.

In the 1920s and 30s when the muralist movement was most active, there was nothing to prove that his assertion was true. However, once the news came of Bonampak’s Temple of the Murals, with its heavy-set figures, Rivera’s claims were vindicated. It is said that he was flown to the site by the Mexican government, and upon seeing the murals, he wept.

SO WHAT DO THE MURALS SHOW, AND WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM THEM?

From what archeologists know of the local history, Bonampak, the original name of which, Usiij Witz means Vulture Hill, was a fourth-level power under the sway of Yaxchilan and allied to it by marriage. This temple celebrates that alliance by presenting in Room 1, the royal succession, with three of King Chan Muan’s sons dancing. There is a baby girl being presented as well, perhaps a princess whose later function would be to secure other alliances through marriage. Healey noticed that the Mayan Blue used as the background in the procession had a sparkle to it. It came to light that the paint was made of azurite, a stone that contains crystalline forms, hence the sparkle. Azurite comes from Arizona, so its use in these murals indicated not only that the Maya trade routes stretched far north, but also that this temple was very special as it used this expensive material from so far away.

Room 2 in the Temple of the Murals, Bonampak, Mexico.

One of the long-held myths about the Maya was that they were a peaceful people who spent their time studying the stars and creating extremely accurate calendars. The scenes in Room 2 certainly help disprove that theory, as they show both bloody battles and what happened to prisoners. The man with the long spear is Chan Muan, and he is deciding the fate of an already tortured captive. It has been noted that he holds the spear in his right hand, and that many of the captives are shown with two left hands. The left hand was considered a sign of weakness by the Maya, so obviously anyone captured in battle would be depicted as weak.

Room 3 upper panel of royal family members performing acts of auto-sacrifice. Click image to magnify.

Room 3 shows scenes of celebration after the victory over a rival group. Since Bonampak was a vassel state of Yaxchilan, and the ruler of Yaxchilan sent artists to Bonampak to paint this mural, Bonampak’s Chan Muan obviously had a victory over some group that was important to the king of Yaxchilan. The scenes in this room show ritual auto-sacrifice, as well as lots of dancing. The whole set of murals seems to have been designed to show the success of Chan Muan, the solidity of his line of succession (three sons and maybe a daughter who could later be married for diplomatic purposes), and that this was all an extension of Yaxchilan’s power in the region. It was a fine November day in 790 when this great celebratory temple was opened for viewing, its walls filled with what was intended to last for centuries.

Well, the building did last for centuries; however, Bonampak and the mightier Yaxchilan both disappeared within 30 years or so in what is known as The Great Maya Collapse. There are hints of later conflict on the walls of Bonampak in areas where eyes have been gouged out or the images of the three dancing sons of Chan Muan have been effaced. Was the collapse the result of constant warring? Was it an overuse of resources, like deforestation that brough less rain to the area affecting crop growth? To this day, there is speculation but no firmly proven theory about exactly what happened. What we are left with, though, are these wonderful murals that show us an insider’s view of the Maya and the great artistry with which they shared this great event in the local history of that time and that culture.

Recommendations: In terms of websites mayagodsoftime.com gives detailed information not only on Bonampak, but on other archeological sites in Mexico. Paul Cooper’s Fall of Civilizations: The Maya Collapse, Ruins Among the Trees is a more detailed view done in filmed documentary format. youtube.com

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

What no wine! What ever did they drink?

Of course, it is the premise of Of Art and Wine that all human cultures produce two things: art and alcoholic drinks. Generally we look at two distinct manifestations of that theory, painting and wine. However, there was no wine in ancient Mexico, though when the Spaniards came the very first vineyards planted in North America were in fact in Mexico (more on that later). At this point, we might shake our heads and utter remarks of pity for this deprivation. Oh, ney ney! The Maya loved nothing more than having wonderful things to drink with their foods, and their foods were plentiful and varied.

Corn was the main source of plant starch and a fundamental element in the local diet. It would only be natural to use corn to make something to drink. Here we have saka, which is made from the fluid of corn boiled in lime water mixed with honey. rivieramayablog.com

Then there was balche, which was made from the bark and roots of the Balché tree. Once fermented it supposedly gave one magical powers. The large prickly extensions of the agave plant produce juices that have given us Tequila. Though named for a town in northern Mexico, the Maya knew of its powers. Of course, should one really want to feel “the magic,” it would be necessary to step up to Mezcal. Mezcal foregoes the gentleness of the blue agave and works with the maguey agave. Its authenticity marked by the presence of the maguey worm in the bottom of the bottle.

Fresh roselle with juice from the hibiscus flower mixed with honey. Photo credit historyplex.com

The Maya were a sophisticated people and thus appreciated subtlety. What could be a more delicate and refreshing way to keep the summer’s heat from overwhelming one than to sip a cool juice mixed with honey and perfumed by hibiscus flowers? It’s current name is Jamaica, but it was a drink of Mayan origins. Coconut milk was also readily available and used as a digestive aid. Another native drink, this from the Yucatan, home of the Post-Classical period in Mayan history, is horchata. It became known as the drink of kings when after the conquest, it was used by King Carlos IV to help his digestion.

Last but not least is that wonder for the taste buds, Xocolatl, Subject of book and film (Like Water for Chocolate and Chocolat) we know it as chocolate! Forget kings, this was known by the Mayans as the “Food of the Gods.” Admittedly don’t we all feel divine when we have a hot chocolate? Chocolate was so venerated that its beans were used as money and is often depicted in Mayan glyphs. Its worth was such that one chocolate bean could buy you a tamale. That’s real value. For more on this, go to Xocolotl on historydaily.org.

However, when the Spaniards arrived, they brought with them that product of the ancient Greeks and Romans, wine. Certainly the dense forests of the Maya lands did not lend themselves well to cultivation of vineyards. However, Mexico has a varied topography, and as it turns out Baja California is just right for the cultivation of grapes. That region has become Mexico’s Napa Valley and produces 90% of the wines made in Mexico. Bearing the iconic name Valle de Guadalupe, it’s proximity to the U.S. makes it an reasonably easy destination. One of the wineries, El Cielo Winery and Resort, even offers shuttle pick-up from San Diego International Airport for the drive some 75 miles into Baja along the Pacific Coast.

“Skip Napa and Visit Mexico’s Wine Country Instead” an article from vogue.com Click to magnify.

The wine producing area in the Baja region benefits from the dry climate and from the altitude of its mountains to provide cooler days and cold nights. A wide variety of grapes are grown there, making what Madeline Puckett of Wine Folly refers to as blends that do not always follow European traditions winefolly.com. While the wine industry in Mexico is in the fledgling stage, I have no doubt that it will progress nicely, giving Mexico yet another taste treat to accompany those drinks that have come from its ancient past.

Wine is a wonderful way to travel the world and its cultures, and since we are all staying more at home for the next little while because of COVID 19, a wine club can come in handy as a way to travel with our tastebuds. Cellars Wine Club offers a variety of wine clubs that work with every level of enthusiasm and budget. There is a “no bad bottle” return policy, free shipping, and the possibility of donating part of the purchase to one of a number of vetted charities, a good thing to do in the spirit of the season. Look at the Cellars Wine Club page for all the clubs or click here,  CellarsWineClub.com

Give Back is a way to make your wine purchase count for even more than just great wine.

OfArtandWine.com is an affiliate of Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com  and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Soon: Medici Politics, Botticelli’s Adoration of the Magi, and Christmas Wines.

The Adoration of the Magi by Sandro Botticelli, 1475. Free media repository, Wikimedia Commons

The Medici family ruled Florence for a lot of the 15th and 16th centuries. It was very important during those times to remain in their good graces, which is what the man who commissioned this painting wished to do. Of course, to really please the Medici, one hired their favorite artist, Sandro Botticelli. Ah, politics. Come see how to “work” things in the times of the Medici.

Beyond Black, the Paintings of Norman Lewis, and the Wines of New York State.

Untitled (March on Washington), Norman Lewis, 1977. Click on image to magnify.

I am sure we have all gone on to an Internet news site only to have our attention stray away from the headlines to something interesting in a sidebar. So it was with me one day, when my attention was captured by an interesting figure in a photo. A man, African-American, sat on what looked like a small sofa made of reddish-brown lacquered wood. One of his long-fingered hands dropped casually from an arm positioned on the sofa’s curved wood armrest, while the other hand propped itself up on the red sofa cushion. He wore what our mothers always told us never to wear together, plaids and stripes. Somehow, the plaid pants in navy blue with subtle red-violet touches and the striped shirt in horizontal bars of navy and white struck me as being oddly elegant. His eyes looked directly at the camera; the deep brown of his eyes held a warm glow. Behind him on the wall was a joyful abstract painting in pinks and blues. The caption gave this information: Normal Lewis, painter and abstract expressionist, subject of a retrospective at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts – Procession, the Art of Norman Lewis.

Photos of Norman Lewis from Huffington Post announcement of Procession, the Art of Norman Lewis.

Procession, hmmm…I immediately thought of Jacob Lawrence and his famous Migration Series, a visual recitation of the movement of African-Americans from the rural South to the industrialized North, done in modernist style with angular figures and primary colors. I had met Mr. Lawrence and his wife, Gwendolyn Knight, many years before at the Bellevue Art Museum, in Bellevue, Washington, just outside Seattle. I was honored to have had those precious moments with one of the greats of American art and one of the few well-known African-American painters. However, Norman Lewis, I knew nothing of. Looking at this man of unusual elegance sitting on the lacquered wood sofa in front of a painting of dancing pinks, I felt ashamed of my ignorance.

In fact my ignorance of him was not completely my fault, as I found out when I read a comment by Lowery Stokes Sims, the first African-American curator at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, “There was a joke for a long time that if you went to a museum, you’d think there were only two black artists, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden, and even then, you wouldn’t see very much.” (See link to NY Times article below). Well, I was not going to be anywhere near Pennsylvania for that retrospective, so I ordered the catalog, which opened up a world for me both historically and artistically. Lewis’ life in art truly was a procession from figurative works and works of social commentary, to finally his great leap into abstract expressionism.

The Yellow Hat (sometimes The Girl in the Yellow Hat) by Norman Lewis, 1936

The Yellow Hat (1936) is a fine representation of Lewis’ figurative work, especially in contrast to Lawrence. Here we see a nod to Cubism in the blocks in the background and a certain angularity in the pose, one leg crossing at a diagonal, with the yellow hat tilted in the opposite diagonal. The colors are not just primaries, but mottled mixtures of red-orange, green, gray, brown and white. And there is the mystery of what the girl is thinking. What problem does she seek to solve? What dream for the future is she constructing? Who else might she be thinking of? Or is she just tired?The pose and the hat covering her face, leave us a lot to guess about. This kind of expression with black characters center stage was almost a type of genre. They had a certain look, a certain subject matter, almost a codified style influenced greatly by Jacob Lawrence (my opinion, of course). Obviously Lewis could express himself well within those restrictions and make subtle differences as well.

Lewis, however, broke free of those confines and headed like a heat-seeking missile for freedom – abstract expressionism – where he was largely a black man alone. Though in his career he was in 150 group exhibitions, many with the likes of Jackson Pollack and Wilhem de Kooning, it was too much for the mindset of the times to accept him as an accomplished abstract expressionist. Sadly, his own prophetic statements seem to have come true. Speaking shortly before his death in 1979, he predicted that in 30 to 40 years his work would be seen for itself. He said at one point,”I wanted to be above criticism, so that my work didn’t have to be discussed in terms of my being black” (Artnet Artists). Now his work is being re-positioned in the history of modern American art, and yes, it is 40 years later.

On a personal level, I focused on some of his pieces that are more enigmatic and done in the last years of his life. Perhaps it is because of his love of the sea and nature, which I share, my favorites of his work are mysterious, fluid, and indecipherable like the two just below. My mind creates all kinds of stories in an attempt to figure out what they really are, but in the end I am just navigating the ethers, floating about marveling at the wonders.

Untitled painting by Norman Lewis, 1977.

Part Vision by Norman Lewis, 1971.

In my own painted world, based on a Chinese concept of laying in colors and “finding” the painting, I see maybe a trace of Lewis.

My meanderings are hardly brave, but when I see how Lewis forged ahead despite conditions so different from my own, I am heartened and enlightened by now knowing who he was. I only wish I could talk to him.

Note: The Norman Lewis paintings are used in accordance with Fair Use Policy for the purposes of critique and review.

Marjorie Vernelle is an artist, writer, college professor, and traveler. For more see the Pages at ofartandwine.com or her author page at amazon.com and her art at Vernelle Art Boutique vernellestudio.com.

What? Vineyards in New York?

Vineyards in New York State Photo credit newyorkwineevents.com

Looks familiar, doesn’t it? The same long rows of neatly tethered vines run in military parade formation down a hill leading to distant vistas, which look like they might be in the Napa or Sonoma Valleys. But no. These vines are in New York. Yes, read it and weep California, Oregon and Washington, New York State is the third largest wine producing area in the United States, and it is growing.

Wine production began in New York in the 17th century when the Hudson River Valley was settled by Dutch and Huguenot immigrants. Admittedly they grew the local variety of grape, the Concord grape, and even today 70% of the grapes produced in New York go into the production of fruit juices not wine. That being said, the state boasts 240 wineries and cultivates a variety of different grapes.

This is an aerial view of New York’s Finger Lakes. It’s cool micro-climate great for Riesling and Gerwurstraminer grapes.

The secret to New York’s being able to grow so many varieties from Riesling to Bordeaux varietals has to do with its micro-climates. Laura Burgess’ article, “What the Heck is a Micro-Climate?” vinepair.com goes into detail. However, simply put it is the smallest element in the world of climate descriptions, covering the rainfall, temperatures, altitude, and soil variations, sometimes over something as small as one field or even part of a field. New York seems to be blessed with enough of these climate variations to be able to grow grapes from the more northern Finger Lakes Region right on down to Long Island, a borough of New York City. Yes, Long Island, the eastern end of which is good for growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes because of its warmer climate. An abundance of lakes keeps its climate balanced making it warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

The Brotherhood Winery in New Photo Credit to hvwinemag.com

The oldest winery in America happens to be in New York State. It is the Brotherhood Winery, founded in 1839. Started as a small, family-run operation producing sacramental and “medicinal” wines, it has proudly survived three wars and Prohibition. The winery itself has expanded its operations over the years to include fine dining facilities in the wonderful stone structure of the winery, a boutique, a wine museum, and of course, a tasting hall.

New York is also the home of America’s biggest company specializing in the production and sale of wine, beer and spirits, Constellation Brands (crbrands.com). Constellation owns a number of famous California wineries like Robert Mondavi and Franciscan Winery.

So from small things, like Dutch and Huguenot growers of Concord grapes, many great things have come. For more on the history of New York Wines see this article, “A Brief History of New York Wines” by Benjamin Mitrofan-Norris at learn.winecoolerdirect.com. And for a cool look at the wine producing region of New York’s Finger Lakes area, see this video youtube.com. Should you want to make a quick visit to a winery in New York, try the North Fork area of Long Island. Known for its red wines, this area is just two hours from New York City, youtube.com.

Now, a great way to get a well-rounded tasting experience is to join a wine club. Cellars Wine Club has clubs that fit every level of wine enthusiasm and budget. One exceptional value is the Premium Wines Club, which offers 12 bottles of wine, all reds, all whites, or a mix of the two for $99.00. Click on the Cellars Wine Club page in the right hand column or go to CellarsWineClub.com

OfArtandWine.com is an affiliate of Bluehost.com and CellarsWineClub.com and may earn from qualifying purchases.

©marjorie vernelle 2020

Coming Soon: The Painted Walls of Bonampak and Mayan Drinks.

A procession of musicians on the walls of the Temple of the Murals, Bonampak, Mexico.

When we think of paintings on walls, we most frequently go to the murals of the Italian Renaissance, but mural painting appears in a variety of different cultures. Modern Mexico has a penchant for the mural. One thinks immediately of Diego Rivera, who always claimed his painting was truly ethnically Mexican, even when there was no proof. Then came the discovery of Bonampak, which proved Rivera’s artist’s instinct to have been correct. While the ancient Mayans did not drink wine, they did have a fascinating variety of drinks. Come along on this adventure and maybe enjoy a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon while reading about these murals.

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