Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar
Inside the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar there is a small museum that used to be the cloisters of the Recoleto friars. The admission costs $1.00 (one peso) and it is possible to appreciate works of art of the XIV to XIX centuries, like paintings, sculptures, registry books, pieces of furniture and saint effigies.
The Baroque style saint effigies are very expressive and curious; there are doll-like saints with human hair wigs, glass eyes, decorated clothes and earrings. They are ”imágenes de vestir” (dressed effigies), a type of sculpture carved on wood with only head, neck and hands detailed and the rest of the body not finished as it would be covered by clothes. It was a technique very used in the South of Spain during the XVI and XVII centuries and later brought to the Americas. With time, some sculptors created articulation for the arms and legs to ease on their dressing and to make possible to change the image’s position according to the rites of the celebrations, as a puppet theatre. This could increase the effigies affective qualities.
Imagen de vestir, Brazil, XIX century
Imagen de vestir of St. John of God, Bolivia, XIX century. With glass eyes.
Imagem de vestir, Peru, XVIII century
Sacred family richly adorned with sea shells
It is very recomendable to do a guided visit to the Cloisters if you are in Buenos Aires on the date, as it happens only once a month. For further information, access the official website with the timetable and days of visitation. Unfortunately, a non-guided visit turns impossible to notice the richness and history of each piece, although they arouse our curiosity due to its amount of details.
Where?
Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar | Junín 1904 | Tel: +54 (11) 4806-2209 / 4803-6793
sepphora | May 4, 2008 | 11:22 am | Recoleta
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