The Art and Architecture of the Texas Missions (Jack and Doris Smothers Series in Texas History, Life, and Culture)
As important elements of New Spain's colonial enterprise, Franciscan missions were meant to bring the gospel to the Indians on the northern frontiers and forge them into useful subjects of the Crown. Building upon earlier research for the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, Quirarte (art history, emeritus, Univ. of Texas, San Antonio) reconstitutes what six extant mission complexes were like from the 1740s to the 1820s. Informative analysis and discussion span the periods when they were constructed, then abandoned, and finally restored or reconstructed. The work draws heavily upon archival records, historic photos (not always crisply reproduced), and drawings. The text recaptures original mission art and architecture, including iconographic schemes, decorations, and the arrangement of sacred images, titular saints, and altarpieces. Appendixes provide a census of Texas missions founded from 1680 to 1793, colonial mission documents and sources, and a glossary of architectural and religious terms. Recommended for academic and regional collections, this book is also of value for its broader historical, religious, and cultural contexts and insights. Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, ILCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.