Cristóbal de Villalpando

Biography

The marriage record of 1669, found in a book of banns kept at the Mexico City Cathedral, is read by scholars as the main document for Villalpando’s age. In it he is described as the legitimate son and resident of the city, and beside him stands the name of his bride, María de Mendoza. From this it is inferred that at the time of the marriage he was still very young and was born around 1649. Another line of reasoning starts from the self-portrait: in a painting of 1685 the artist looks about thirty-five, which would put his birth between 1650 and 1655. The year 1669 found in reference works seems to have been confused with the year of the wedding. I would not call any of these dates firm.

He was born in Mexico City, into the Villalpando family, which sources describe as influential. He learned painting in the workshop of Baltasar de Echave Rioja, known as Echave the Younger. At the same time he served in the local militia as an ensign.

He and María de Mendoza had four children.

He received commissions both in the capital and in Puebla. His early works for Puebla Cathedral include a large “Transfiguration” that culminates in the Assumption of the Virgin on the dome of the apse chapel, with Eucharistic themes. An altarpiece from there, “Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus” (1683), was shown at a major exhibition in Mexico City and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. For the sacristy of Mexico City Cathedral he painted “The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant”, “The Triumph of Religion”, “The Virgin of the Apocalypse”, “Our Lady of Sorrows”, “The Apparition of Saint Michael the Archangel” and other canvases. In the last of these, at the lower right among the clergy, he placed his self-portrait. His early works show the influence of Rubens. Later he moved away from vivid colour and excessive robustness of form toward a more restrained manner, with a broad palette and more of the local, New World traditions. In his later work the even lighting disappears: strong contrasts appear, and artificial light sources within the picture add drama. He tailored his manner to the task and the patron. He could paint with rough blots and smudges, or with meticulous small brushstrokes. Many artists imitated him.

He also rose in rank. In 1686 he was elected one of three directors of the painters’ guild in Mexico; he held this post (veedor) several times. By some accounts he supervised the guild from 1686 to 1699, served as a halberdier of the guard in 1698, and in 1702 was promoted to captain.

In 1695, commissioned by the viceroy, the Count of Gelves, he painted the “View of the Zócalo”, the main square of Mexico City. The canvas shows the cathedral, the viceroy’s palace, the archbishop’s palace, the town council building, the Parián market and the canal beside the Portal de las Flores. The people in the square come from different classes and backgrounds: elites who arrived in carriages, shops with goods, Indian and casta market sellers. Villalpando did not remove the traces of the June riot of 1692 and painted the burned façade of the palace. The Count of Gelves was returning to Spain after a decidedly mixed term as viceroy and perhaps wanted the picture as a souvenir. Today it is in a private collection at Corsham Court in the United Kingdom.

Most of his portraits have been lost, as have a number of his religious works. “The Adoration of the Magi” (1683) was recently discovered by an art history professor: the canvas was hanging in the office of the president of Fordham University, and in 2017 it was shown in the Villalpando exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Villalpando died in Mexico City on 20 August 1714. By some accounts he was buried in the church of Saint Augustine.