Artist:

Leon Trousset, born France 1838-died Juarez, Mexico 1917  Search this

Medium:

oil on canvas

Dimensions:

29 9/16 x 48 1/2 in. (75.1 x 123.2 cm.)

Type:

Painting

Folk Art

Folk Art

Date:

ca. 1885-1886

Gallery Label:

Leon Trousset's painting of Mesilla, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, takes us far into the past. Spain's King Philip II mandated the appearance of his colonial cities, where priests, tradesmen, and the king's army competed for influence. Priests often intervened between the soldiers and native peoples, and the church at left reflects their spiritual authority. Across the plaza lies a low-roofed building that likely housed the military commanders. A dirt road leading into the distance marks the town’s position on El Camino Real, the King's Highway connecting trade centers from Santa Fe to Mexico and beyond. Trousset painted this village after the territory had been ceded to the United States, but he included Mexico’s tricolored flags flying in the garrison courtyard. Mesilla’s plaza carried the history of two cultures—Spain and Mexico—even as a third power claimed the unassuming adobe settlement as its own.Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Topic:

Figure(s) in exterior  Search this

Architecture\religious\church  Search this

Cityscape\bird's eye view  Search this

Architecture\vehicle\wagon  Search this

Cityscape\town  Search this

Cityscape\New Mexico\Mesilla  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:

1951.13

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk7d495ea9e-002e-4658-901c-a92122b10c49

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1951.13