Spanish Colonial Art: The Beauty of Two Traditions - The Patricia ...

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For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Emmett Young
emwiyoun@fiu.edu | 305.348.4799
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Spanish Colonial Art: The Beauty of Two
Traditions exhibition opens at
the Frost Art Museum
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MIAMI,!FL!(April!8,!2013)3!The!Patricia!&!Phillip!Frost!Art!Museum!at!FIU!will!hold!a!
preview!reception!for!Spanish(Colonial(Art:(The(Beauty(of(Two(
Traditions!on!Saturday,!April!20,!from!6!pmB8!pm.!The!
Saturday!wine!and!hors!d’oeuvres!preview!reception!is!open!to!
the!public!and!free!of!charge.!
The!art!of!Spain!reached!the!Americas!on!board!the!ships!of!the!
explorers,!on!the!banners!of!the!conquistadors,!in!illustrated!
Bibles!brought!by!the!friars,!and!in!the!form!of!small!devotional!
images!and!portraits.!The!Spanish!Colonial!period!(1520sB
1830s)!created!a!culture!and!art!that!is!a!combination!of!
European!and!indigenous!traditions!of!unique!sensibilities!
based!on!ritual,!status,!and!the!creation!of!luxury!goods.!!
!
Carol!Damian,!Frost!Art!Museum!Director!and!Chief!Curator,!and!
also!the!curator!of!this!exhibit,!notes!that!“Religious!art!was!the!
most!significant!to!the!colonizing!efforts,!and!came!to!dominate!
artistic!production!of!this!time.!Paintings!and!devotional!statuary!of!biblical!subjects!
appear!with!unusual!iconographic!details,!and!the!affection!for!images!of!the!Holy!Family!
and!Guardian!Angels!is!especially!interesting.!!
!
Unknown,!Cuzco!School,!Virgin!
of!Sorrows,!18th!century,!Oil!on!
Canvas,!58!½!x!38!¾!inches,!
MET!77.49.2!

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Unknown,!Cuzco!School,!St.!Joseph,!
1800B1850,!Oil!on!Canvas,!36!3/16!
x!27!7/16!inches!
“The!variety!of!works!created!in!the!Americas,!especially!Latin!
America,!offers!a!unique!perspective!on!the!people!and!culture!
of!the!time.!The!vast!territories!of!the!Americas,!with!their!
diverse!ethnic!groups!and!varied!population!centers!ranging!
from!tribal!villages!to!the!extraordinary!cities!of!the!Aztecs!and!
the!Incas,!also!gave!way!to!regional!styles!in!the!Colonial!
period.!This!exhibition!focuses!on!the!most!renowned!centers!
of!production,!Peru,!Colombia!and!Mexico—especially!Cuzco,!
Peru,!and!Mexico!City,!the!capital!cities!of!the!Inca!and!Aztec!
empires,!respectively.”!
Spanish(Colonial(Art:(The(Beauty(of(Two(Traditions!includes!
works!from!the!Frost!Museum’s!permanent!collection,!on!loan!
from!private!collectors!and!the!Museum!of!the!Americas,!
Madrid.!The!exhibition!will!run!through!August!25.!A!fullBcolor!
catalog!is!available!to!the!press!upon!request.!This!exhibition!is!
part!of!the!Frost!Art!Museum’s!2013!yearBlong!program!Commemorating+500+Years+15132
2013+Spain2Florida2Caribbean,!a!series!of!exhibitions!celebrating!the!evolution!of!our!
culture!and!development!since!Ponce!de!León’s!arrival!in!what!is!now!Florida.!
In!addition!to!this!new!exhibit,!the!following!current!exhibitions!will!be!on!display!at!the!
Museum!on!April!20:!
• American(Sculpture(in(the(Tropics(
• José(Manuel(Ballester:(Concealed(Spaces(
• Deep(Blue!by!Javier!Velasco!
• Eugene(Savage:(The(Seminole(Paintings(
Just!prior!to!the!preview!reception,!there!will!be!a!lecture!featuring!Robert!Wittman,!as!part!of!the!
Frost’s!Green!Critics’!Lecture!Series,!beginning!at!4:00!pm.!Mr.!Wittman!is!a!former!FBI!agent!and!
founder!of!that!Bureau’s!National!Art!Crime!Team,!and!has!been!dubbed!the!“most!famous!art!
detective!in!the!world”!by!the!Times!of!London.!The!lecture!will!be!held!at!the!Wertheim!
Performing!Arts!Center,!across!the!street!from!the!Frost!Art!Museum,!and!is!also!open!to!the!public!
and!free!of!charge.!!+
About!the!Patricia!&!Phillip!Frost!Art!Museum!at!Florida!International!University!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The!Frost!Art!Museum!opened!its!current!46,000BsquareBfoot!state!of!the!art!building!in!November!
2008.!Admission!to!the!Museum!is!always!free.!The!Frost!is!an!American!Alliance!of!Museums!accredited!
museum!and!Smithsonian!affiliate!and!is!located!at!10975!SW!17 th Street,!across!from!the!Blue!garage!
and!adjacent!to!the!Wertheim!Performing!Arts!Center!on!the!Modesto!A.!Maidique!Campus.!Hours!of!
operation!are!Tuesday!through!Saturday!10!a.m.!–!5!p.m.!and!Sunday!noonB5!p.m.!Closed!on!Mondays!
and!most!legal!holidays.!For!more!information,!please!visit!http://thefrost.fiu.edu!or!call!305B348B2890.!

Follow!us!on!Twitter!(http://twitter.com/frostartmuseum)!and!Like!Us!on!Facebook!
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About!FIU!
Florida!International!University!is!one!of!the!25!largest!universities!in!the!nation,!with!nearly!50,000!
students.!Nearly!110,000!FIU!alumni!live!and!work!in!South!Florida.!Its!colleges!and!schools!offer!more!
than!180!bachelor’s,!master’s!and!doctoral!programs!in!fields!such!as!engineering,!international!
relations!and!law.!As!one!of!South!Florida’s!anchor!institutions,!FIU!is!worlds!ahead!in!its!local!and!
global!engagement,!finding!solutions!to!the!most!challenging!problems!of!our!time.!FIU!emphasizes!
research!as!a!major!component!of!its!mission,!with!research!expenditures!of!more!than!$100!million!per!
year.!For!more!information!about!FIU,!visit!http://www.fiu.edu/.!
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