Considerations on the formation of a gallery dedicated to the “antigua escuela de pintura” in nineteenth-century Mexico

Abstract

In the mid-19th century Mexico, with the rise of the liberal group to power and the secularization process set in motion, religious orders saw their old assets expropriated and several of their buildings demolished. The formation at the capital's fine arts academy of a painting gallery to house the canvases collected from convents and churches was under the responsibility of the jurist José Bernardo Couto (1803-1862). It was accompanied by the elaboration of the Diálogo sobre la historia de la pintura en México, one of the first writings on art history produced and published in the American continent. Drawing on Couto's biography and the scenario in which he led these two complementary undertakings, we will comment on the process of building a history of art that repositioned past, present, and future so that they could be in tune with the design of a national identity.