The History of Art in San Miguel de Allende [] LIFELONG LEARNING

Instructor: Natalie Taylor

March 3, 5  | 1-3 p.m.

​Most people are not aware that San Miguel was the repository of art treasures long before the 20th century, and that one can still appreciate many of these. This LLP class will cover the artistic legacy of San Miguel de Allende from the 16th through the 20th century, focusing on the artistic treasures found in the numerous churches that began acquiring religious art from renowned Spanish, and novo-Hispanic painters in the early 17th century and continued with the acquisitions throughout the 18th and into the 19th century. We will also look at several syncretic art pieces, represented by the melding of native traditions and European styles, some of which are now the oldest pieces of art found in the city.

Following a hiatus of over a century, a new wave of artists appeared in San Miguel de Allende in the late 1930s and beyond.  What were the historical reasons why art acquisition stopped, and what happened to cause the resumption of art production and collection? A flood of new artists from around the world brought about a true artistic renaissance in San Miguel.  Who were the most influential artists who came to San Miguel in the 20th century, what did they aim for, and what did they accomplish? Most of the public, artistic legacy from that period is represented by murals that we can see to this day. Several excellent muralists left their works on the walls of the former convent Las Monjas, now called El Nigromante Cultural Center. Other well-executed murals are found at the Instituto Allende, and we will learn about those artists as well. 

Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist. Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator. For the past five years she has studied and written about the history, and particularly the history of art of San Miguel de Allende. She was a columnist for the local paper Atencion, and now writes on the same subjects on her blog, and for the newspaper Insiders News. 

Contact: tangonata@gmail.com