The Disturbing Images of the Main Arch of the Doctrinal Chapel of Tópaga

Abstract

  The doctrinal chapel of Tópaga (Department of Boyacá-Colombia), inaugurated in 1642 by the Jesuit order, in the Kingdom of New Granada, gathers a vast and rich ornamentation inside: main altar, two pulpits, two tribunes, the altar of mirrors, and several minor altarpieces. Because of its high reliefs in polychrome wood, the most outstanding architectural element is the main arch of the presbytery, where a set of images impacts and moves the parishioners. This article makes an iconographic analysis of the different figures of the arch, which includes the study of some influences from other religions and mentalities. Among the images stand out the devil, the angels of silence, the archangels San Miguel and the dragons, which to this day are symbolically appropriated by the inhabitants of the place. It is in the chapel of Tópaga where the reciprocity between the Baroque and the Society of Jesus, in the great undertaking of defending and revaluing the images is manifested.