Gift of Robert J. Stroessner During the colonial period in Mexico, a unique art form known as enconchado was invented and may be related to both PreHispanic shell mosaic and Asian shell inlay traditions. Enconchado panels and objects were inset with pieces of mother-of-pearl and then painted with oil paints thinned to a translucence, to allow the shimmer of the pearl to shine through the paint. Various workshops in Mexico City and other areas produced these stunning and unusual works of art…

Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer Alonso Lopez de Herrera (born in Valladolid, Spain, about 1580; active in Mexico until mid-1600s)Saint Anthony and the Christ Child, about 1640. Oil paint on copper panel. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2014.213

Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Oil paint on panel Jan Provost Belgian

Gift of the Stapleton Foundation of Latin American Colonial Art, made possible by the Renchard Family This painting depicts the Christ child as the Salvator Mundi, or Savior of the World. Christ raises his right hand in a gesture of benediction and holds in his left hand a crystal orb surmounted by a gold cross, symbolizing Christ’s triumph over the world and redemption of mankind at the end of time. The subject was popularized in the 1400s by northern European painters such as Jan van Eyck…

A gift of the collection of Jan and Frederick Mayer. The painting depicts a famous sculpture of Christ on the cross brought from Spain in 1545 for the mission church of a small Otomi village near Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo (north of Mexico City) and was credited with many miracles. In the 17th century it was moved by the Archbishop of Mexico to Mexico City, where it now resides in the Chapel of St. Teresa. This history is explained in the inscription. The painting is one of the popular "statue…

Purchase for Dora Porter Mason Collection Tempera on parchment unknown maker

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Bunker Oil paint on canvas

Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer This painting was made in the late 1600s by the New Spanish painter Juan Correa (c. 1645-1716), who signed his name along the lower right edge of the canvas. Together with Cristóbal de Villalpando (c. 1649–1714), Correa is considered to be one of the most important and prolific painters active in mid-colonial Mexico. Born in Mexico City about 1645, Correa was the son of a Spanish-descended surgeon and a freed woman of African descent.