The CPPC Donates 119 Works of Colonial Art to Five Museums in the American Continent

Juan Pedro López (1724–1787), Venezuela
Our Lady of Guidance, c. 1762
Oil on wood
100.3 x 69.2 cm (39 1/2 x 27 1/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Jorge Rivas

Antonio Mateo de Los Reyes (active 1725–1766), Venezuela
Armchair, c. 1755
Spanish cedar, painted and gilded
107 x 77 x 56 cm (42 1/8 x 30 5/16 x 22 1/16 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Carlos Duarte

Francisco José Cardozo (active 1768–1820), Venezuela
Fleuron, 18th century
Gilded Spanish cedar
50 x 120 cm (19 11/16 x 47 1/4 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Carolina Cisneros Phelps

The production of colonial woodworkers was not restricted to altar-pieces and furnishings; local workshops produced all manner of artifacts including frames for paintings, doors, windowsills, and other architectural elements such as this fleuron designed as a ceiling ornament from which to hang lamps or chandeliers. The entire surface of the fleuron, a pentagonal star shape divided in three descending levels, is carved in rocaille with foliage and scrolls. The gold leaf finish served not only to demonstrate the wealth of the piece’s owner, but also to reflect the tenuous light of the lamp affixed just below the fleuron, which would create a striking glowing effect in the penumbra of scarcely-lit colonial salons.

Antonio Mateo de Los Reyes (active 1725–1766), Venezuela
Armchair for the Brotherhood of San Pedro, 1755
Carved and gilded Spanish cedar, silk velvet upholstery
140 x 83 x 65 cm (55 1/8 x 32 11/16 x 25 9/16 in.)
The Hispanic Society of America. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Laure de Montebello

The armchair, produced in Caracas around 1755 for the Brotherhood of San Pedro de la Catedral, was constructed following the design parameters used for “Spanish friar’s” chairs. Unlike austere traditional chairs, this piece has been enriched with a variegated decoration of carved and gilded foliage and rocaille that cover its entire surface. The backrest is surmounted by a crest depicting a papal mitre and two crossed keys, symbols of Saint Peter. The crimson velvet upholstery and golden trim are the final touches that complete the luxurious decoration of this armchair. Chairs with these characteristics were used exclusively for solemn religious ceremonies where their primary function was to highlight the dignity and hierarchy of the ecclesiastical authorities and were often positioned on a carpeted podium in order to exalt their importance even further.

Serafín Antonio Almeida (1752–1822), Venezuela
Easy Chair, 1795–1800
Spanish cedar veneered in gateado and carreto woods
124.5 x 77 x 80 cm (49 x 30 5/16 x 31 1/2 in.)
Denver Art Museum. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Rafael Romero

The repertoire of classical forms, popular in Europe since the second half of the 18th century, arrived late to Venezuela. The first examples of the style appeared during the final decade of the 18th century, but it was only for a short period between 1800 and 1814 that the forms of classical antiquity were widely disseminated among local artists. The woodworker Serafín Antonio Almeida is the most renowned exponent of this neoclassical style in Caracas. The undulating Rococo style easy chairs typical of the mid-18th century were transformed by Almeida into elegant seats composed of straight lines; the traditional rocaille carving was substituted with delicate swags and other classical motifs executed in bright carreto wood and inlaid in the dark, lustrous surface of gateado, a hardwood native to Venezuela.

Juan Pedro López (1724–1787), Venezuela
Saint Matthew, c. 1770
Oil on canvas
138.4 x 95.9 cm (54 1/2 x 37 3/4 in.)
Denver Art Museum. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Mateo R. Barnetche

In Latin America during the period of the Spanish colonies, the Catholic Church and its related institutions, such as convents, monasteries, and brotherhoods, were the greatest patrons of the arts. This large-format painting by the Caracas master Juan Pedro López offers a fine example of church patronage. The work, one of three surviving pieces of a complete series of the twelve apostles, was commissioned to López around 1770 for the Convent of the Conception in Caracas. Founded in 1636, the convent was the oldest and wealthiest of the city until its closing in 1874.

Domingo Tomás Núñez (1735–1801), Venezuela
Sacrarium, c. 1790
Silver
16.4 x 15 x 7 cm (6 7/16 x 5 7/8 x 2 3/4 in.)
Denver Art Museum. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Gisela and Carlos Padula

This small silver piece, measuring just over 6 inches, is an example of the aesthetic refinement and artisanal mastery achieved by the silversmiths of Caracas, Venezuela during the second half of the eighteenth century. This sacrarium, attributed to Domingo Tomás Núñez (1735–1801), is a miniature version of the silver sacraria that were used in the city’s principal temples. This portable adaptation was used to bring communion to those who could not attend church. In these cases, the priest was required to walk in solemn procession, with the sacrarium hanging from his neck by a silver chain, until reaching the place where the communion would be given. The complex embossed rocaille decoration that covers the entire surface of the piece is characteristic of the Rococo style that remained popular in Caracas until the last decade of the eighteenth century, much later than in other Spanish territories in America, where stylistic preferences were already turning toward classical forms of Greco-Roman inspiration.

Antonio José Landaeta (active 1748–1799), Venezuela
Immaculate Conception, c. 1795
Oil on canvas
75.6 x 47.6 cm (29 3/4 x 18 3/4 in.)
Denver Art Museum. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros de Cisneros in honor of Frederick and Jan Mayer

The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception was declared the patron saint of Spain and all of its New World territories by Pope Clement XIII on the 8th of November, 1760. This proclamation inspired the cult of Mary, which explains the recurrence of this theme in the work of Venezuelan painters of the second half of the eighteenth century. The author of this work, Caracas master painter Antonio José Landaeta, was no exception. Landaeta, who was active between 1763 and 1810, produced several versions of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, all of which share a great deal of similarities, suggesting the possibility that he used a European print as a model. The painting, one of the few signed by the artist, may date from the last decade of the eighteenth century.

Unidentified artist, Venezuela
Our Lady of Sorrows, 18th century
Oil on wood
26 x 19.7 cm (10 1/4 x 7 3/4 in.)
Blanton Museum of Art. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

In Spanish American colonial painting, frames are frequently as important—or even more important—than the works themselves. The frame of this small painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, comes from the town of Coro in western Venezuela and is a fine example of the importance of the frame. The attractive frame, decorated with heavy carving which gathers many elements of the Spanish baroque’s ornamental repertoire into a composition teeming with rocaille, shells, scrolls, foliage, flowers, and cornucopias finished with gold on a scarlet background, softens the severity of the painting depicting a scene of the Passion of Christ.

Joseph P. Whiting (1800–1849), United States
Easy Chair, c.1830
Spanish cedar and mahogany
97.8 x 68.6 x 72.4 cm (38 1/2 x 27 x 28 1/2 in.)
Blanton Museum of Art. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

After the Venezuelan independence of 1821, a qualified workforce from northern Europe and the United States immigrated to the young nation. A number of North American woodworkers, among them Joseph P. Whiting, the maker of this chair, decided to try their luck in Caracas. In order to adapt his production to local tastes, Whiting developed his own version of the traditional Venezuelan butaca or easy chair. While keeping the high back and inclined seat intact, Whiting also added certain elements of the North American Empire repertoire in his version, including particularly the notable decoration of golden stencilled images in the style of his native Baltimore, Maryland.

José Gil de Castro y Morales (1785–1841), Peru
Portrait of Don Juan Francisco de Izcue y Sáez de Texada, 1834
Oil on canvas
100 x 85 cm (39 3/8 x 33 7/16 in.)
Museo de Arte de Lima. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in honor of Natalia Majluf

Domingo Gutiérrez (1709–1793), Venezuela
Tabernacle, 18th century
Gilded Spanish cedar
Closed: 52.2 x 33 x 10.2 cm (20 1/2 x 13 x 4 in.); Open: 52.2 x 41.9 x 10.2 cm (20 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 4 in.)
Denver Art Museum. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

Juan Pedro López (1724–1787), Venezuela
Tabernacle with Saints Joachim and Anne, 18th century
Oil and tempera on wood
Open: 91.1 x 88.3 x 16.5 cm (35 7/8 x 34 3/4 x 6 1/2 in.)
Closed: 91 x 58 x 16.5 cm (35 7/8 x 22 7/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
Blanton Museum of Art. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros

Juan Pedro López (1724–1787), Venezuela
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, c. 1760
Oil on canvas
50.2 x 36.2 cm (19 3/4 x 14 1/4 in.)
Blanton Museum. Promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros in memory of Venerable Servant of God Mother Carmen Rendiles Martínez, SDJ

Unidentified artist, Venezuela
Side Chair, c. 1825
Mahogany
90 x 49 x 51 cm (35 7/16 x 19 5/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
Seat height: 44 cm (17 5/16 in.)
Blanton Museum. Gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros