Upon the entrance of the Spanish and their allies into Tenochtitlan, Motecuhzoma put the palace Axayacatl at their disposal. After learning of an attack on his men left behind in Veracruz, Cortes took the Aztec king hostage. In May 1520, when Cortes was absent from the city, his men and their Tlaxcalan allies under the leadership of Pedro de Alvarado massacred a large number of the Mexica elite during an important religious festival and destroyed major cult figures in the Templo Mayor, the largest and most important ceremonial building in Tenochtitlan. Although the exact date of his death is unclear, at some point during this time Motecuhzoma appeared in public on the upper level of the palace Axayacatl in an attempt to ease the hostility of his people. What followed is a matter of some uncertainty; rocks were thrown and Motecuhzoma was hit, but the severity of the wound is unknown. Spanish accounts put the blame for his death squarely on a rock-throwing Mexica warrior, while Nahuatl accounts suggest that the injury was minor and that the Spanish instead killed Motecuhzoma in secret.

In the painting, Motecuhzoma stands in a precarious position on the edge of the wall on the roof of the palace, here depicted as a large, fortress-like structure. The Mexica leader, dressed in his traditional crown and finery, has not yet received his fatal blow and his facial expression suggest both empathy for the Spanish and concern for his people. In the foreground, Mexica warriors swarm angrily below on the street in front of the palace. Great attention has been paid to the costumes of these figures, especially those of the jaguar and eagle warriors, the highest-ranking soldiers in the Mexica military. A Mexica man wearing long red feathers in his hair and holding the fatal stone is depicted in the foreground, standing almost on the bottom edge of the canvas. The stone he clutches is about to be launched, adding tension to the scene. The billowing clouds of smoke in the background also create drama and may represent Spaniards setting fire to the idols from the Templo Mayor. The prominence of the priest standing next to Motecuhzoma is both foreshadowing of the death of Motecuhzoma and a reminder of the importance of Christianity and conversion in New Spain. One recent scholar has pointed out the formal similarities between this composition and images of Jesus as "Ecce Homo" (Behold the Man) (Garcia-Diaz 1999: 312-124). Based on the Gospel of John, images of this subject show Jesus standing on a balcony, looking sorrowfully down at a jeering crowd below. As in the biblical story, in this painting Motecuhzoma is denied and even struck down by his own people. Motecuhzoma, with his compassionate expression and inevitable death, becomes a Christ-like figure.

The Conquest of Mexico paintings, a series of eight works, tell the story of the 1521 Spanish conquest of the native Aztec people. A highlight of the Kislak Collection, they are significant both artistically and historically. They represent a bridge between the collections wealth of pre-Columbian objects and its extensive array of manuscripts, maps, and rare books from the period of exploration and the early colonial period.

The paintings are outstanding examples in this genre of history painting because of their early date, fine condition, and the skill of the (unknown) artists involved. Painted in Mexico during the second half of the seventeenth century, the Kislak series is considered the earliest of the three complete cycles of paintings of the Conquest that still exist.

Medium : oil on canvas : original size : 48"x 78"

Artist : Unknown

Created : The second half of the seventeenth century

Caption is courtesy of Arthur Dunkelman, Curator of the Kislak Collection

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Product #: kislak233E