LACMA
November 19, 2017-March, 18, 2018
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
April 24–July 22, 2018
The vitality and inventiveness of artists in 18th-century New Spain (Mexico) is the focus of the exhibition Painted in Mexico, 1700–1790: Pinxit Mexici, opening April 24 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Through some 112 works of art (primarily paintings), many of which are unpublished and newly restored, the exhibition will survey the most important artists and stylistic developments of the period and highlight the emergence of new pictorial genres and subjects. Painted in Mexico, 1700–1790 is the first major exhibition devoted to this neglected topic. |
Juan Rodríguez Juárez, "Self-Portrait", c. 1719, oil on canvas, 26 × 21 1/4 in. (66 × 54 cm), Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, Secretaría de Cultura, Mexico City , photo: © D.R. Museo Nacional de Arte / Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura, 2015
The exhibition is co-organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Fomento Cultural Banamex.
Collector Services Painted in Mexico, 1700–1790 |
During the first century after the conquest of Mexico, artists from Europe—mainly immigrants from Spain—met the growing demand for images of all types, both religious and secular. Some of these artists established family workshops in Mexico that endured for generations. By the middle of the 17th century, artists born and trained in Mexico, responding to the mounting needs of both individual and institutional patrons, had risen to prominence and developed pictorial styles that reflected the changing cultural climate. The 18th century ushered in a period of artistic splendor, as local schools of painting were consolidated, new iconographies were invented, and artists began to organize themselves into academies. Attesting to the artists' extraordinary versatility, painters whose monumental works cover the walls of chapels, sacristies, choirs, and university halls were often the same ones who produced portraits, casta paintings (depictions of racially mixed families), folding screens, and intimate devotional images. The volume of work produced by the four generations of Mexican painters that spanned the 18th century is nearly unmatched elsewhere in the vast Hispanic world. |
The growing professional self-awareness of artists during the period led many educated painters not only to sign their works to emphasize their authorship but also to make explicit reference to Mexico as their place of origin through the Latin phrase pinxit Mexici (painted in Mexico). This expression eloquently encapsulates the painters' pride in their own tradition and their connection to larger, transatlantic trends. |
Exhibition Overview
Painted in Mexico, 1700–1790 unfolds in seven major chronological and thematic sections:
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Master Storytellers and the Art of Expression
considers the resurgence of narrative painting in 18th-century Mexico in
response to a growing demand for images that could convey complex
sacred stories from the Bible and the lives of the saints. Often
conceived as series, these works decorated the interiors of churches,
convents, colleges, and other public spaces. An emphasis on domestic
interiors and everyday details served to establish a connection with the
viewer and humanize sacred content.
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Paintings of the Land assembles a compelling group of depictions of local peoples, traditions, and places. The expression "paintings of the land" (pinturas de la tierra)
is used in contemporaneous writings to describe works unique to
Mexico—either made there or representing local subjects. These include vedute (cityscapes or vistas), casta paintings that show racially mixed families, folding screens with fêtes galantes
(amorous figures in rustic settings), and depictions of Indian
weddings, all of which are punctuated with colorful local elements.
These works brilliantly exemplify how Mexican paintings of this time
fulfilled artistic, political, and documentary purposes simultaneously.
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The Power of Portraiture associates the upsurge in portraiture with the economic growth of the viceroyalty, as members of different social groups—particularly within urban contexts—commissioned artists to paint their likenesses. In a hierarchical society such as New Spain, which placed a premium on nobility of birth, piety, wealth, titles, and merits, portraiture had the capacity to convey both individual and collective likenesses. Portraits enabled people to fashion and refashion their identities and project them onto society and to memorialize families and document institutions, both religious and secular. |
The Allegorical World looks at a fascinating,
highly inventive type of painting often commissioned by religious orders
to convey abstract theological concepts or instruct in matters of
faith. These images became particularly popular in part because allegory
can express many things simultaneously. Allegorical paintings can be
broadly divided into four categories: guides to inner spirituality,
teaching or mnemonic aids, symbols that promoted local devotions, and
commentaries that extolled (or criticized) figures of power. Some
allegories were conceived as large-scale paintings for the adornment of
architectural spaces, while many smaller ones were intended to awaken
individual devotion in private oratories or monastic cells.
Imagining the Sacred features a selection of
painted replicas of miracle-working cult images. These paintings, which
represent dressed sculptures, belong to a long tradition in which many
of the best artists of the day participated. Often depicted in the
setting where they were venerated, the sacred images are seen on altars
adorned with curtains, candles, vases, and flowers. Individual devotion
was commonly aided by smaller images, often painted on copper with great
skill and precision. The technical refinement and exquisite detail of
such works stimulated both aesthetic and religious contemplation.
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Credits, Catalogue, and Programs
The exhibition is curated by Ilona Katzew (Los Angeles County
Museum of Art), with guest co-curators Jaime Cuadriello (Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City), Paula Mues Orts (Escuela
Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía, Mexico City), and
Luisa Elena Alcalá (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). At The Met, the
exhibition is organized by Ronda Kasl, Curator, The American Wing.
Edited by Dr. Katzew, with contributions by Dr. Alcalá, Dr. Cuadriello, Dr. Mues Orts, and Dr. Kasl.