Chak-mol [chacmool]

12414287-bc_sherp_2_1.022RS.jpg

Creator

Hirsch, Stefan (American painter, 1899-1964)

Subject

Maya; statues; columns (architectural elements)
Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico

Description

Hirsch and Rogo visited the “Temple of the Serpents” at Chichen Itza, a major Mayan site in the Yucatan Peninsula. In Mayan culture, the chacmool was a ceremonial statue featuring a reclining warrior. These statues were centrally featured in Mayan temples and were used as the site of sacrificial offerings. In Hirsch’s drawing, the chacmool presides over the enormous ruins of Chichen Itza which had begun to be excavated nearly contemporaneously with Hirsch’s drawings.

Coverage

Modernist; Mexican Muralist (movement)

Source

Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo Collection, Bard College Archives

Date

1930

Rights

Prior written permission required to use any photograph from the Bard College Libraries.

Format

charcoal on paper; (16.5x10.6 inches)

Type

Image

Identifier

2_1.022

Embed

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Citation

Hirsch, Stefan (American painter, 1899-1964), “Chak-mol [chacmool],” Stevenson Library Digital Collections, accessed March 29, 2024, https://omekalib.bard.edu/items/show/1725.