Morocco: Discovery of a "heretical" Mexican fresco hidden for 90 years in a church

The hunt began with a simple rumor of an auction in 2015. Andrés Ordóñez, then Mexico’s ambassador to Morocco, embarked on a quest to find a phantom work between Rabat and Casablanca. His search led him to the Saint-Jacques church in Mohammédia, built under the Protectorate. On the wall of the baptistery, the diplomat identified a canvas of more than two meters, painted in Paris and transported to Morocco in the 1930s, revealing an unknown chapter of Mexican muralism on African soil.

The work recounts a family tragedy and religious audacity. Commissioned by the Hersent brothers, founders of the port of Fedala, it pays tribute to their nephew Jacques Hildevert, killed at the age of 24 during the First World War. Zárraga represented Saint-Jacques carrying the body of the deceased soldier, whose head is surrounded by a halo. This detail defies the strict rules of Catholicism, which prohibit the halo for the non-sanctified, an artistic liberty that experts today qualify as "bordering on heresy".

Time now threatens this unique piece. The fresco is suffering from erosion and dust accumulation, while architectural plans suggest that three other panels could be hidden under the plaster. While Moroccan ambassador Abdelffatah Lebbar is ready to collaborate, the Mexican cultural authorities are hesitating, citing a lack of budget to send experts on site. This inertia prolongs the oblivion of an artist already erased from the official Mexican history for his refusal of revolutionary nationalism, even though Picasso himself considered him one of the few valuable painters of his time.