https://doi.org/10.37955/cs.v6i3.278
Received June 19, 2021 / Approved October, 09 2021 Pages: 53-61
eISSN: 2600-5743
Interpretation of the sacred art of
the San Juan del Valle Church in
Loja-Ecuador
Interpretación del arte sacro de la Iglesia San Juan del
Valle Loja-Ecuador
Rubén Darío Román Aguirre
Estudiante de Doctorado en Administración de Empresas, Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar
ruben.roman@uasb.edu.bo
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6736-2231
Armando Patricio Asadobay Guashpa
Técnico de Turismo del Gobierno Parroquial Rural Augusto Nicolás Martínez, Ambato-Ecuador,
patricioasadobay@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000- 0001-6644-6812
Jhohana Larrea Silva
Estudiante de Doctorado en Turismo- Universidad Islas Baleares
jhohana.larrea@unl.edu.ec
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3472-363X
Maruxi Loarte Tene
Estudiante de Doctorado en Turismo- Universidad Islas Baleares
mloarte@unl.edu.ec
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1033-8115
ABSTRACT
With the present investigation it has been possible to identify that in
the container of the San Juan del Valle Church there are four pictorial
works that are considered cultural patrimony of Ecuador, besides it
has been possible to decode the iconography of sacred art. The
objective of the study is to present to the readers the first
approximations of the meaning of the symbols present in the colonial
church of the city of Loja. The methodology was of qualitative
character and by means of a documentary analysis, comparative of
religious works in other contexts. The results of the research allow us
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to have a clearer vision of the iconography of the sacred art of the
colonial and republican period. It is concluded that this study will
allow to deepen in the future other researches that are developed in
the same line.
RESUMEN
Con la presente investigación se ha logrado identificar que en el
contenedor de la Iglesia San Juan del Valle existen cuatro obras
pictóricas que son consideradas patrimonio cultural del Ecuador,
además se ha logrado descodificar la iconografía del arte sacro. El
objetivo del estudio es presentar a los lectores unas primeras
aproximaciones del significado de los símbolos presentes que se
incubaron en la iglesia colonial de la ciudad de Loja. La metodología
fue de carácter cualitativo y mediante un análisis documental,
comparativo de obras religiosas en otros contextos. Los resultados de
la investigación permiten tener una visión más clara de la iconografía
del arte sacro de la época colonial y republicana. Se concluye que este
estudio permitirá a futuro profundizar a otras investigaciones que se
desarrollen en la misma línea.
Keywords / Palabras clave
Sacred art; symbology; cultural tourism; religious tourism; religious
tourism
Arte sacro; simbología; turismo cultural; turismo religioso
Introduction
In the field of interpretation, artistic heritage plays an important role
because through this means it has been possible to preserve the
history, the exploits of both kings and the church (Hatje, 1995;
Kurkhard Schwetje, 2010) Quoted in Sanchez Ruiz, et al., (2020). On
the other hand, Hatje (1995) mentions that different cultures and
religions have developed countless symbols, through identity elements
that are representative for a social group and have been transmitted
from generation to generation over time.
For authors such as Gamper (2010) and Réau (2007a; 2008b) Cited in
Sanchez et al., (2019) state that debates on religious symbology have
increased, because iconography plays an important role in science as
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it is the description of images and has a higher ambition to classify and
interpret them.
Therefore, like Cirlot (1969), the study of religious symbols has other
interests, such as revealing the meaning of each element, figure and
symbol in pictorial works. For example, the contemplation of the work
implies, then, a simultaneous and reciprocal "animation" between the
spectator and the object of his vision. The sense or meaning of the work
being understood as the participation of the spectator in its "life",
through pictorial elements deeper than what already exists"
(Mondrian, 1983, p.23) quoted in Kinzbruner (2004).
In this context, the San Juan del Valle Church, located in the city of
Loja-Ecuador, has been taken as an object of study because in the
colonial and republican times it was and still is one of the most relevant
churches in safeguarding pictorial works with many years of antiquity.
The objective of this research is to give a first approximations of the
meaning of the religious symbols of the paintings, in the same way we
want to increase future research in the field of symbolic interpretation.
The research questions were whether there are currently
interpretations of the pictorial symbols of the sacred art of the church
of San Juan del Valle. On the other hand, the independent and
dependent variables were that studies on the interpretation of the
sacred art of the San Juan del Valle church can help to generate new
tourism proposals and thus diversify the offer and contribute to the
development of postcovid tourism.
As for the results, it was found that the San Juan del Valle church in
the city of Loja, Ecuador, houses four pictorial works that date back to
the colonial and republican period, specifically from the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. The symbolism present is mostly related to
the New Testament. In this context, God the father, son and holy spirit
are the most repeated symbols in all the works of sacred art.
It is concluded that the investigation of the interpretation of the
pictorial art of the church San Juan del Valle in the city of Loja,
Ecuador, is strategic, the same that can help to generate tourism
products and thus diversify the tourism offer in these times of crisis as
it is post covid.
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Materials and Methods
The research starts with the collection of documentary information
and based on the container of pictorial works inventoried by the
Institute of Cultural Heritage of Ecuador (INPC), we took as reference
the pictorial works of the container of the San Juan del Valle Church,
pictorial works that have been inventoried for the heritage importance
that as a legacy have been recognized by the year in which the material
and technique were developed.
On the other hand, the methodology has a qualitative approach, which
through a documentary and comparative analysis of iconographic
elements of religious works developed in other contexts, we try to
decode the elements and describe them, so that we can have a broader
vision of the elements, colors and symbols present in the works
developed in the San Juan del Valle Church. Based on the following
authors, some iconographic elements have been decoded: (Réau, 2007;
Carmona Muela, 2015; Gibson, 2011 and Esteban Lorente, 2002).
Results
In this section of the results, the symbology of each artistic work that
has been considered as cultural patrimony of the San Juan del Valle
Church is exposed and explained.
Figure 1. Souls in purgatory
Source: Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC). Historical period: 1849.
Location: San Juan del Valle Church
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The composition is distributed in three levels: in the upper level is the
trinity with images of front and full body, on the left is Christ seated
with a tertiary mantle and holding the cross, instrument of your
passion; on the right the eternal father seated with his left hand
holding a scepter, symbol of sovereignty and authority; in the upper
part the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove with wings spread with
flashes of light; this scene on a background of clouds. The second level
and on clouds are some saints, saints, martyrs, apostles, bishops and
founders of religious orders which are divided into two horizontal
groups; between the first and second level on the left side is the Virgin
Mary in prayerful position with her hands clasped to her chest. In the
third level there are several people in red tones among them a bishop,
cardinal and semi naked people, as representation of the purgatory;
also Saint Dominic praying, Saint Francis, Saint John the Evangelist
with his cross of reed, of right profile with the arms extended forward,
to the center Saint Anthony on clouds in three quarters and of left
profile his right hand is extended toward a person, among them an
angel of back supports the arms of a person, behind Saint Anthony
there is an angel supported a child, toward the right a Gregorian
celebration of mass.
Figure 2. Christ
Historical period: XIX. Location: San Juan del Valle Church Source:
Cultural Heritage Institute (INPC)
On the front face the image of Christ in full body and sedentary with
the head in foreshortened right, looking to the front; his long hair,
beard and brown eyes. His arms are bent downwards, in his left hand
he holds the end of a pennant and in his right hand he holds a cross,
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instrument of his Passion, and the other end of the pennant with the
inscription that says "Come to me, all you who are burdened: I will
relieve you", this biblical passage is found in (Matthew 11: 28). He
wears a red tunic representing the pain and sacrifice of his passion and
death that alludes the red to the color of blood, with a blue tertiary
mantle, in the neck has golden floral decorations, the background is in
brown tones.
Figure 3. Agnus Dei
Source: Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC). Historical period: XIX.
Location: San Juan del Valle Church
The lamb, symbol of the "Ecce agnus dei" (translated from Latin, Lamb
of God) surrounded by flashes and clouds, is lying on a brown book
with seven golden medallions, representing the apocalyptic seals. First
Seal Revelation 6: 1,2: The white Horseman represents the antichrist.
Second Seal: Revelation 6: 3,4: The vermilion or red horseman
represents the war. Third Seal: Revelation 6: 5,6: "The black
horseman" Represents economic crisis, death, hardship, malnutrition
and famine. Fourth Seal: Revelation 6: 7,8 The yellow horseman
represents disease and death. Fifth Seal: Revelation 6: 9,11: Here it
speaks of those who will be martyred for their faith in Christ during
the time of the end (Revelation 6:9-11). The white garments symbolize
the dignity conferred by the righteousness of Christ (Revelation 19:8;
3:5; 7:14) Sixth Seal: Revelation 6: 12,17: When the sixth of the seven
seals is opened, a mighty earthquake occurs, causing a massive crisis
and terrible devastation - along with unusual astronomical
phenomena (Revelation 6:12-14) Joel 2:31 says: " The sun shall be
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
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dreadful day of the LORD comes. Seventh Seal: Revelation 8: 1,5: In
this last seal, God announces 7 judgments worse than the previous
ones, that is why in heaven they make a silence. Those 7 judgments
that follow are the 7 trumpets. At the bottom two angels, in profile and
in prayerful position on the clouds, which may denote a link between
heaven and earth.
Figure 4. Trinidad
Source: Institute of Cultural Heritage (INPC). Historical period: XVIII.
Location: San Juan del Valle Church
In this scene the trinity is identified God the father with the triangular
halo over his head that represents and is usually an exclusive attribute
of God the Father, above the clouds that represent the link between
heaven and earth and the globe that is symbol of sovereignty over the
world. On the right side the son with the cross symbol of his passion
and death with golden powers symbol of his deity and his flaming heart
with a crown of thorns symbol of the immense love of Jesus towards
men and in the upper central part the dove with its wings spread out
shining with flashes of light.
Conclusions
The present investigation has the purpose of contributing to the
science of the interpretation of the symbols and to have the first
approximations in the matter of knowing the meaning of the color, of
the position and elements that each character sustains. On the other
hand, the research wants to contribute and generate new research in
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the field of cultural tourism, because the symbolic interpretation can
be used to develop new cultural tourism products such as interpretive
routes of the symbolism of sacred art, theatrical performances, audio
guides of symbolic interpretation, among other tourism products.
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