Original artwork description:

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

Unfortunately, I never had the chance to visit the city of Monterrey but since it is one of the biggest cities of Mexico I needed to create a painting for the exhibition at the Mexican Consulate General in Germany. Not having visited the city was quite a challenge but with the help of the internet and Streetview I was able to come up with a painting that represented this northern Mexican metropolis.


Detailed description of the painting:

The parliament building, the cathedral, the bridge Atirantado, and some of the skyscrapers (Helion, Ciudadana) are the center pieces of this painting. The post office building is located on the lower right hand corner and on the left side the historical bishop’s palace is right behind the planetarium Alfa. A little Mexican guy sits on top of the building and gazes into the stars. In the front of the parliament building is the statue of Diego de Montemayor, the founder of the city.

On top of the parliament building an American soldier and a Mexican soldier fight against each other. This represents the Battle of Monterrey, one of the most important historical events during the Mexican-American War. Mexico had to surrender and lost most of its territory in the North to the United States.

The city did not grow much until a train track was built between Monterrey and the city of Laredo in Texas. This connection allowed the city to blossom. In the painting the train to Laredo is driving along a rope tied between two skyscrapers, while three beer bottles on each skyscraper represent not only the famous beer industry of the city but also the founding of the city. Local tribes destroyed Monterrey many times and the city was founded three times until it survived.

Materials used:

Acrylics on canvas

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