Following the death of Motecuhzoma and given the increasingly difficult situation of the Spanish, who remained trapped in the palace of Axayacatl in the center of Tenochtitlan, Cortes chose midnight on July 1, 1520, as the time for his retreat from the city. Spotted soon after leaving their stronghold, the Spanish and their allies were attacked by Mexica warriors. Although Cortes and most of the leaders of the Spanish contingent were able to escape to the mainland on makeshift bridges, hundreds of Spanish soldiers and thousands of Tlaxcalans died during what has come to be known as the la noche triste or sad night.

This spectacular nocturnal image highlights the Spanish participants in the battle, who are portrayed as noble men on horseback, imparting a curious sense of heroism to what was in fact a disastrous retreat. The foreground is dominated by three large figures on horseback, Cortes's armour-clad captains, who ride off in opposite directions, providing a sense of drama and movement to the work, but also framing and drawing the viewer's eye to the center of the painting. Here the much smaller figure of Cortes is shown seated on a rearing horse, brandishing his sword triumphantly above the chaos that surrounds him. In the deep background, Tenochtitlan is represented as a ghostly, abandoned city, rendered in a palette of greys and pale, smoky browns, distant and oddly disconnected from the furious battle that rages in front of it. In contrast, banners of red and lightning-like flames of light and color give an eerie, almost sinister quality to the central battle scene. Evidence of treasure lost or left behind by the Spanish can be seen scattered on the ground in the form of small rectangular bars of yellow gold.

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

For more information visit the Early Americas Exhibit

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Product #: kislak234E