Mexico City History Architecture Art - Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso CDMX For Sale

Mexico City History Architecture Art - Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso CDMX
Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso by Elisa Vargaslugo, José Rogelio Álvarez Noguera, María del Consuelo Maquívar, and Alicia Azuela. A lavishly illustrated scholarly study of one of Mexico\'s most important historic buildings, the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in the heart of Mexico City\'s Centro Histórico. Published under the auspices of Nacional Financiera, this substantial volume explores the architectural, artistic, religious, educational, and cultural history of an institution that played a central role in the intellectual development of New Spain and modern Mexico.

Founded during the colonial era by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the Colegio de San Ildefonso became one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The complex witnessed the rule of Spanish Habsburg and Bourbon monarchs, the Bourbon Reforms, the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767 under King Charles III, the Mexican War of Independence, the Reform era of Benito Juárez, the French Intervention, the Porfiriato, the Mexican Revolution, and the emergence of modern Mexico.

The book examines the evolution of the \"Real y Más Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso,\" its magnificent colonial architecture, cloisters, courtyards, chapels, and ceremonial spaces. Special attention is devoted to the Generalito choir stalls (La Sillería del Generalito), among the finest surviving examples of colonial woodcarving in Mexico, and to the Sacristy of the Chapel of San Ildefonso. Detailed essays place the building within the broader history of Mexican art, religion, education, and civic life.

A major section explores the twentieth-century transformation of San Ildefonso into one of the great monuments of Mexican muralism. The institution became closely associated with José Vasconcelos and his vision of national culture following the Mexican Revolution. The walls of San Ildefonso became a canvas for some of Mexico\'s most celebrated artists, including Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Fernando Leal, Jean Charlot, Ramón Alva de la Canal, Fermín Revueltas, and other pioneers of the Mexican mural movement whose works helped define modern Mexican identity.

The volume also documents the restoration and rebirth of the building during the 1990s, when the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA), the Government of Mexico City, and Nacional Financiera collaborated to transform the historic complex into a major cultural center. References include the landmark exhibition México: Esplendores de Treinta Siglos, which attracted nearly one million visitors and helped reintroduce San Ildefonso to a new generation.

Richly illustrated with photographs by Bob Schalkwijk, one of Mexico\'s most respected architectural photographers, the book offers exceptional visual coverage of the building\'s façades, courtyards, murals, chapels, architectural details, and historic spaces. Additional contributions come from Dolores Beistegui de Robles, Carlos Sales Gutiérrez, Daniela Rocha, María Eugenia Rincón, Fernando Sánchez Chávez, Javier Tinoco, and Santiago Garcés.

An outstanding reference for collectors and researchers interested in Mexico City, colonial architecture, Jesuit history, New Spain, Mexican muralism, Diego Rivera, José Vasconcelos, UNAM, colonial art, religious architecture, educational history, and the cultural heritage of Latin America.

Publisher: Nacional Financiera, Ciudad de México
Date of Publication: 1997
Condition: Very good. Clean pages, sound binding, and attractive dust jacket. Light shelf wear from age and handling.
Pages: 128 pages
ISBN: 9687637188