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Today
Chichén Itzá, where this structure stands, is the
most heavily visited of all Maya archaeological sites. Thousands
of visitors travel to see the restored ruins, now enhanced (as
guide books often say) with a sound-and-light show and explanatory
plaques in Spanish, English and Maya.
Catherwood’s
view of Las Monjas, isolated in its scrubby desert setting, evokes
a moment in time and a place far from 21st-century tourist experiences.
His keen eye for architectural detail depicts a wondrous façade.
Catherwood has defined the mask-like faces of Maya deities, scroll-work
and even the plumes of a headdress on the figure seated above
the doorway. Through shadow and sharp lines, he reveals how the
Maya juxtaposed shallow relief carving with elements that extend
fully from the surface of the building (seen especially at the
edge of the right side of the building and over the main entry).
The result is a marvelous architectural feat.
The
moment Catherwood captures in this print is certainly of the mid-19th
century—a point we sense from the dress of the Maya. Yet
their lounging postures suggest no urgency. And the scene betrays
nothing of Catherwood’s anxiety about the limited time he
had to work at Chichén Itzá. In reality, time did
matter, and Las Monjas was no solitary site. Nearby stand many
more structures, which local Maya certainly knew (and Catherwood
saw with Stephens). Nevertheless this idyllic perspective on Las
Monjas invites us to imagine a magical place, in a time where
no one hurries. While this was not the lived reality of Catherwood
or the Maya, it is a fantasy that still stirs our imagination.
[Spanish version].
DANA
LEIBSOHN |
