Provenance : San Diego Viceregal Painting Gallery, 2000.
Andres de la Concha was a Spanish born artist who went on to become one of the most influential artists in colonial Mexico. Born in Sevilla, Spain, his early years as an art practitioner were shaped by the Spanish mannerist tradition, there he came under the influence of renowned flemish painter Pieter Coecke van Aelst (known as Pedro Campana in Spain). While in Spain, he also attained exposure to other traditions such as the Italian renaissance, flemish realism and devotional art; helping him to evolve his practice. He arrived in Mexico around 1567 as he had received commission to create the main altarpiece for the Dominican monastery at Convent of Santo Domingo Yanhuitlan. His arrival coincided with the catholic churches efforts to spread Christianity among the native masses through strong visual imagery after the counter-reformation movement. Andres's visual language was primarily manneristic but due to his European formal education, his works also exhibited renaissance and proto-baroque characteristics. In 1590, he produced one of his remarkably popular artwork titled "Saint Cecilia". It depicts the patron saint of music; Saint Cecilia, according to Christian traditions, Saint Cecilia remained devoted to god even during her performances at celebrations, festivities and ceremonies, hence she is commonly portrayed with a musical instrument in her hands. The composition is vertical and Saint Cecilia occupies most of the pictorial space, dominating the composition. The colour palette is luminous yet it has a restrained quality due to the sacred imagery. The yellows, reds and ochres also display Andres's inclination towards a renaissance-like portrayal of the holy image. The form and texture are rendered very softly. The painting exemplifies the late renaissance mannerism phase and is one of the oldest surviving masterpieces from colonial Mexico.
In my understanding, Saint Cecilia is an allegory of spiritual sacrifice over earthly temptations. Music that is in the scope of earthly pleasure and entertainment is made sacred by Cecilia's faith in God. The painting thus presents a message that beauty can live in harmony with faith in the presence of art and human creativity when the latter is oriented towards a higher spiritual purpose.
The work also demonstrates the cultural interaction between European art forms and the emerging visual culture of colonial Mexico. Its Mannerist characteristics, Renaissance style and religious theme shows the influence of European artistic styles and how these were introduced to the New World and employed as means of religious communication. The painting, therefore, is not only a portrait of a saint but also an illustration of the ways in which art was used to convey Christian beliefs and values in colonial Mexico.
