After our lunch, Alejandro and I headed down Madero, the pedestrianized street which crosses the heart of the city's historic center. We came to the 18th century mansion known as Iturbide's Palace. The palace is today a cultural center operated by Banamex (the Bank of Mexico) and is the venue for frequent special art exhibits. There was new exhibit since I had been there last, so we went in.
The current exhibition is a collection of thirty paintings by Cristóbal de Villalpando. I had never heard of Villalpando. He was born in 1649 in Mexico City and died in 1714. He was the last important Baroque artist of colonial Spanish America, and he drew his inspiration from the work of Peter Paul Rubens. He was quite successful and was commissioned to create numerous paintings for cathedrals in Mexico.
This show is a collaboration between "el Fomento Cultural Banamex" and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It will be on display in Iturbide's Palace until June 4th. The show will then travel to New York City where it will be on display at the Metropolitan for three months.
Here are a few of the paintings in the show...
The painting is divided into two parts. The lower portion depicts the Old Testament story of Moses and the bronze serpent while the upper half portrays the Transfiguration in the New Testament.
As always, exhibits at Iturbide's Palace are free to the public.
I will conclude our day in the center of Mexico City in the next post.
Do you know the name of the pieces that you posted? I want to look up more about them.
ReplyDeleteI know that the large piece is entitled "Moises y la serpiente de bronce y la Transfiguracion de Jesus".
DeleteOf the three smaller paintings, I am pretty sure that first one is "la Familia Sagrada" (the Holy Family) and that the second is "La Anunciacion" (The Annunciation). I think the third one might be something like "Lamentation at the Cross". Hope that helps.