Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museo Nacional de Arte
Presenting the most important Mexican art
collection in the world, the Museo Nacional de
Arte is housed in a majestic Renaissance-style
palacio
. The collection includes the Paintings of
New Spain (1550-1810), the art of the 19th
century - Building the Nation (1810-1900) -
and Modern Mexico (1900-1954).
Top 10 Features
1 Palacio de Comunicaciones
2 The Virgin of the Apocalypse
(1760)
3 El Caballito (1803)
4 The Torture of Cuauhtémoc
(1893)
5 The Valley of Mexico from
the Santa Isabel Mountain
Range (1875)
6 Malgré Tout (1898)
7 Apotheosis of Peace (1903)
8 The Offering (1913)
9 The Cloud (1931)
0 The Hot-Air Balloon (1930)
£
El Caballito (1803)
El Caballito
or “The
Little Horse,”
(above)
Manuel Tolsá's famous
statue, is of King Carlos
IV of Spain, dressed
in Roman
clothing
astride his
horse.
A gallery in the Museo
Nacional de Arte
On the top floor to
the right of the
staircase there is a
small orientation
room, where you can
see the artistic
evolution of the
famous statues by
Tolsá and Sebastián,
both known as
El
Caballito
(The Little
Horse)
.
!
Palacio de
Comunicaciones
Built in an eclectic style
the interior of this imposing
palacio
has a soaring stair-
case decorated with intri-
cate wrought iron work.
Glorious paintings adorn
the building's ceilings.
There are many
restaurants nearby.
Try Los Girasoles for
traditional Mexican
food, or Taco Inn for a
quick Mexican meal,
or Sushi Roll if you
prefer Japanese
(see
p73)
.
@
The Virgin of the
Apocalypse (1760)
Painted at the height of his
career, Miguel Cabrera
used intense color to
portray the theme of
The
Virgin of the Apocalypse
triumphing over evil
(below)
.
$
The Torture of
Cuauhtémoc (1893)
Following the War of
Reform in 1861 the new
government placed a
cultural emphasis on the
history of pre-Hispanic
Mexico, and by 1893
ancient Mexico was being
presented as having had a
glorious past. This
monumental sized painting
(above)
by Leandro
Izaguirre depicts the
legend of Cuauhtémoc, the
last Aztec Emperor, and his
torture by the Spanish.
•
Map P2
• Tacuba 8, Col Centro
•
5130-3400
• Metro 2, 8 Bellas
Artes; Turibus Plaza
Manuel Tolsa-Munal #10
•
Tue-Sun 10:30am-
5:30pm
•
30 pesos, free Sun
• www.munal.com.mx
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