The Twelve Months of the Year, March–April (Los doce meses del año, marzo-abril)

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The Twelve Months of the Year, March–April (Los doce meses del año, marzo-abril)

Mexico, second half of the 17th century
Paintings
Oil on canvas
Unframed: 31 7/8 × 38 in. (81 × 96.5 cm); framed: 40 1/4 × 46 1/2 × 2 3/8 in. (102.24 × 118.11 × 6.03 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund (M.2008.30.2)
Latin American Art
Not currently on public view

Provenance

Private collection, United Kingdom, 1982; Sotheby’s, London, April 27, 2006, lot 49; Rafael Vals Gallery, London, 2006; Caylus Anticuario SA, Madrid, 2006; LACMA, 2008.

Label

This unusual series of paintings (see also M.200.2008.30.1, M.2008.30.3,

...

This unusual series of paintings (see also M.200.2008.30.1, M.2008.30.3, M.2008.30.4, M.2008.30.5, and M.2008.30.6) exemplifies the circulation and dynamic adaptation of prints in New Spain. Paintings of the twelve months derived from calendar miniatures in medieval books of hours and were popular in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Flemish painting. The images depicted labors associated with the times of the year, often alongside zodiac signs to signal the corresponding months.

Antonio de Espinosa deftly combined several sets of Flemish prints, yet he introduced intriguing variants. In the canvas corresponding to May and June foregrounding the leisure activities of the elite, he included local types dressed in the fashion of the day to render their socioracial differences clear and create a more relatable image for his patrons. The strategic addition of these details enabled Espinosa to insert the entire set within the context of New Spain, demonstrating his ability to creatively engage with and reconfigure his source material.


From exhibition Archive of the World, 2022 (for more information see the catalogue entry by Ilona Katzew with Rachel Kaplan in the accompanying publication, cat. nos. 47–52, pp. 226–31)
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Bibliography

  • Katzew, Ilona, ed. Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800: Highlights from LACMA’s Collection. Exh. Cat. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New York: DelMonico Books/D.A.P., 2022.

Exhibition history

  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800 Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
  • Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800 Nashville, TN, Frist Art Museum, October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024