Original artwork description:

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

Not many people outside of Mexico have heard of this city even though it was once the second largest city Mexico and one of the richest in the world. I passed by this city only briefly many years ago but was immediately inspired by its history as a silver mining town.


Detailed description of the painting:

Zacatecas is also known as “The city with a face made from pink stone and a heart of silver.” Remembering this slogan, I used pink and silver as the main colors for this painting.

Around 1550 Zacatecas was one of the richest cities in the world because of it many silver mines. The exploitation of these mines made Spain more powerful than ever. Spain took silver from Zacatecas back to Spain on galleys which are represented by the ship on the top right of the painting. It is loaded with silver. The mountains around Zacatecas are perforated by mines. Today aerial cable cars take visitors up to the silver mines, which are depicted in the center of the painting.

Many of the buildings in the painting rest on beams, like old mines. It shows that the city’s wealth is based on the mining industry. The landmarks that are piled up on each other are the cathedral, the bullfight arena, the governmental palace, and the aqueduct.

The colorful façade underneath the Spanish ship is the church San Augustin. It was bought by an American priest in 1882. He tore down the overly decorated stucco façade. But today, during special occasions, the old façade is being projected onto the flat surface of the church, creating a colorful kaleidoscopic imagery.

Materials used:

Acrylics on canvas

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