Original artwork description:

Original artwork of the city of León, Mexico, painted on canvas and stretched on double wooden bars.

This is one of the few cities I painted even though I have never visited it. Since I had a large solo exhibition at the Mexican Consulate General I needed to paint cities I had not visited in Mexico. Even though I have been many times to Mexico I never got the chance to visit León.


Detailed description of the painting:

The history of the town began long before the Spanish arrived. It was first under the influence of Teotihuacan and later the tribe of the Chichimecas controlled the area. But it was not until the Colonial times that León became a center of power.

Today the city is the center of the shoe industry in Mexico and most Mexicans don’t know much about the city itself.

For the painting this was valuable information. I used shoes and combined them with the landmarks of the city. High above dangles the church Expiratorio from ropes. The high-heels on the left house the cathedral from 1746 and the red shoe on the right gives home to the old church tower on the market square.

Between the two Mexican cowboy boots is the Arch of Triumph from 1896. The City Hall forms the center piece of the painting on top of the boots.

Materials used:

Acrylics on canvas.

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