“Hey if tacos can totally fall apart and still be amazing so can you.” ~ Jonathan Edward Durham
The exterior of Mission San José used to be covered in vibrant frescos. What you see below is all that remains after nearly 300 years. In the photo above in the lower left corner, you see the fresco and get a real sense of scale. Last year, San Antonio recreated the fresco in lights. You can see what that looked like here. It must have been something to behold in the 1700s, covered top to bottom in technicolor design, bright and bold. I don’t know if the interior has any remaining frescoes since we couldn’t go in due to the private event taking place that day.
The smaller chapel of San José still has much of its interior fresco visible in the following two photos. The white plaster with a simple colour design must have been quite fancy on the Texas frontier. Churches in Europe were accustomed to ornate decoration created by craftsmen with legions of experience. The frontier missions carried on the ostentatious heritage best they could in any way they could. Frescoes were one way to do that successfully.
Some of the living quarters at San José were also adorned with fresco, as below. I imagine this was a welcomed flourish to an otherwise austere life. In the lower-most photo is an impressive fresco found on the baptistery ceiling of Mission Concepción. The National Park Service has put together a short, concise fresco explainer found here. These are truly spectacular works all things considered. The baptism sun is fascinating. It feels as positive and uplifting as one would want and expect in such a space.
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