Hernan Cortes and his army began their march inland toward the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan from the coastal city of Veracruz, which Cortes founded in July 1519. Most of this painting depicts the show of military strength and prowess that Cortes ordered to impress the Mexica ambassadors, who were sent there by Motecuhzoma to meet him. The middle of the painting is filled with galloping horses, cannon fire, and Spanish soldiers in full armor. The effect of this display of military force and European technology is demonstrated by a group of indigenous men armed with bows and arrows on the right, who prostrate themselves. The massive shops docked in the harbor are decorated with red and white imperial flags, demonstrating a powerful Spanish presence. A gift exchange is depicted on the left of the painting, where the elaborately dressed Mexica ambassadors bring presents to Cortes, who is seated with Malinche and others around a banquet table.

During an early restoration, most of Cortes's figure was trimmed off of the canvas; only his hands and armor-clad knee are still visible. This painting is one of only two in the series to name Bernal Diaz del Castillo (1495-1583) among those present, although he is not actually pictured. (For reasons that are not entirely clear the large rock directly off the coast is labeled "vernal" or "Bernal.") Diaz was a soldier on Cortes's Mexican expedition and an eyewitness to the events depicted in the paintings. His influential history of the Conquest, Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva Espana (The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, published in 1632) was written to counteract what he considered to be the over-valorization of Cortes by other authors.

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 : 48"x 78"

Artist : Unknown

Created : The second half of the seventeenth century

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

Availability: Usually ships in 1 week.

Product #: kislak231E