The forgotten murals

The Supreme Court of Justice, Mexico City, south of the National Palace on Pino Suarez Street.

No doubt my favorite murals in town, located at the Supreme Court of Justice, they are seldom visited by our foreign visitors. As you enter, after registration, you take a left, climb the stairs and to your right you will see the amazing ¨war and peace¨ mural by Philadelphia born, Groton and Harvard educated George Biddle , the mural will strike you by its serene palette and it´s renaissance design, one may be thinking of an Italian renaissance mural, the triptych disposition and the figures chosen play beautifully in the story told by the artist, order, chaos, death, redemption and peace.  Biddle who studied in Paris was very much influenced by different artistic movements, but his main drive was the social function of art. During the depression, Biddle helped to develop the actions regarding the production of art works as part of the new deal, he was a friend and old school mate of President F.D. Roosevelt and his influence played a great deal in the implementation of the program.

Then you turn left , climb more steps and arrive to the lost steps hall, the four great murals by Orozco, depicting in an unflattering fashion the state of justice, are shown on the four walls, on the south one you see justice and freedom (with the attributes of the Statue of Liberty) in total disarray, the only wall where order rules is the eastern wall, where the emblems of the Mesoamerican cultures are represented, actually is the only mural with color, the rest were painted in a palette of black, grey, white and the telluric red that represents the only hope in middle of chaos.

Now direct your steps back to the entrance, in middle of the hall make a left, you will pass two other murals, not the ones you are after, at the end on the stair case a modern, dramatic, truly impressive mural by Cauduro. When the public offer made by the Supreme Court to paint that staircase was open Caudoro warned that if he was the winner the subject will be the crimes made in the name of justice, he won and he painted what he had in mind. The optic of the place is a difficult one, very well resolved by the artist and the technique is a complex one, not to forget the materials employed. If you enter though the parking lot the first thing you will see is a Tzompantli (the ritual altar of skulls of the Aztecs), from there on the visual surprises will appear at every step, all related to the miscarriages of justice, at the top of the stair the menacing presence of the riot police.

The building is in a simple elegant style, built on the plaza del volador, one of the historic places of the city where bullfights were run for the first time in Mexico City and I believe is or was until recently in legal dispute with the descendants  of the Conqueror Hernan Cortés. NOTE the pic was taken from la Jornada Newspaper the photographer was Carlos Ramos Mamahua

A great museum in a beautiful square!

1.       Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) . The word ¨National¨ in the name of the museum implies Mexican, 95% of the Works of the exhibition were made in Mexico by Mexicans, quite an achievement not easily repeated in other parts of the world. The collection is divided in two floors, the second floor devoted to the rich vice regal collection of paintings with works by Arteaga, Rodriguez Juarez, Echave, Villalpando, Cabrera etc., the first floor comprises paintings and sculptures from the XIX c. to the first half of the XX c., among them several Landesios and Velascos the two main representatives of the Mexican School of Landscape, that together with the Hudson River School will  come to be the best in the Americas in this field and then a number of artist that greatly contributed to the arts in Mexico, among my favorites, Rodriguez Lozano, Zarraga, Calusell, Fuster, Atl, Abraham Angel, Ruelas, Saturnino Herran and many others. Quite refreshing as the visitor will see that regarding art there is far more to see than Diego and Frida.

The building is a Chicago style structure from the 1900´s covered in stone in an eclectic style of great and noble proportions, the work of Silvio Contri an Italian architect by order of president Porfirio Diaz and initially housed the Ministry of Communications and Public Works, turned Museum in 1982. In front of the main gate you will have the chance to appreciate the equestrian sculpture of Charles the IV by Tolsa, one of the three great sculptures of its type in the world.

Hospital de jesus, the oldest charity in the continent

1.       The Hospital de Jesus. The oldest private charity in the Americas, founded by the conqueror himself on the site he first met Moctezuma. It has been working without interruption for almost 5oo years caring for the poor of Mexico City. It is located on 20 de Noviembre Ave, at the corner of Rep del Salvador, please at approaching the building don´t be disappointed, the hospital lost its north, east and west facades in the late 30´s and the building you see now is not at all inspiring, go though the garage, you will see in bronze letters the name of the hospital, a few meters more you will be in middle of a XVI c. palace with a great staircase and a copy in bronze of Tolsas´Cortes. The upper floor has a mural on the south wall, it is not important, what you want to see is the beautiful XVI c. colored grutesco on top of it. During weekdays ask the nurses to show you the Salon del Patronato (Council Room) or to look through the window into the Director´s office. Then go to the  church, where the conqueror is buried and pray for his soul, that’s the whole idea of this great building, the salvation of the soul of a great man!

Chapultepec Castle

1.       The Castle is one of my favorite’s walks; it is located at the top of the hill that dominates the park and the surrounding area. During the Viceroyalty there was a hermit, then a small palace and a garrison, with independence the garrison will become the Military academy, the cadets of this academy defended the city against the American invading forces in 1847. But the true history of the place starts with Maximilian an Charlotte emperors of Mexico, in just three years they rebuilt the palace and park, actually Reforma boulevard is the result of the Empress whims as she wanted to see the carriage of the Emperor in a straight line to downtown, Another very influential couple in the development of the castle were President Porfirio Diaz and his wife, to General Díaz we owe the lake among other improvements. At arriving to the foot of the hill, you can walk to the top, it is a pleasant stroll watching the beautiful cypresses or you can take the small ¨train¨, there is a third way and it is to take the lift, don´t do it!!  The lift was built inside a cave that according to Aztec lore is one of the gates of hell, we don´t want you to press the wrong floor!!!

Museo Franz Mayer, Ciudad de México, plaza de la Santa Veracruz

La colección Franz Mayer es resultado del amor por las antigüedades del financiero alemán del mismo nombre asentado en México a principios de SXX. Está alojada en el antiguo hospital de San Juan de Dios y destacan sus colecciones de plata, la gran mayoría plata mexicana, talavera, pintura Novohispana, son especialmente notables sus enconchados, arte plumario y bellísimos biombos. El museo se descompone en dos cuerpos, el antiguo hospital y el viejo claustro, en este último se puede disfrutar de una taza de café en la cafetería más linda de la ciudad, en cuyos muros resplandecen los azulejos de la colección. El museo te dará una muy buena idea de la vida de las clases acomodadas en la Nueva España.

The Church of la Enseñanza

1.       The Church of la Enseñanza is often overseen by most of our foreign visitors, it is located on the street of Donceles, half a block from Hotel Catedral, between Brazil and Argentina streets. The church, convent and girls school were founded by Sister Ignacia de Azlor y Echevers, daughter of the Marquis of Aguayo. The Church dates from the second half of the XVIIIc and its attributed to Architect Guerrero y Torres. The façade in Neostyle baroque is splendid, the first body with columns flanking Saint Michael and Saint John Nepomuk, on top,  pairs of columns frame the sculptures of Saint Ignatius and Saint Benedict, above the mixtilinear arch you will find Saint Joseph and infant Christ, then the Choir window with the image of our lady of El Pilar to whom is dedicated the Church,  at the top the representation of the Trinity. The interior is the triumph of the exuberant baroque, the high altar is gilded with a number of great ¨estofados¨, the Choir is magnificent as the rest of the lateral altarpieces. A most see!!!

Mexico City, places to see/Ciudad de México, lugares que visitar

Welcome, the idea of this blog is to share information of places that are of interest to visitors, some will be very well known others not so much. I will try to keep the description adjusted to the architectonic, artistic and historic merit of the building or place of interest. I am a tour guide specialized in vice regal Mexico, therefore most of the entries will belong to this historic period, my website is www.mexicocityelitetours.com, please feel free to participate!

Hola, la idea de este blog es compartir información sobre aquellos edificios y lugares del acervo monumental de la Ciudad de México. Trataré de mantener una descripción ajustada al merito artístico, histórico y arquitectónico del edificio o lugar. Yo soy un guía de turistas especializado en el México virreinal y en consecuencia la mayoría de las entradas corresponderán a ese periodo, mi página web es www.mexicocityelitetours.com, por favor participen!