New Spanish Baroque, also known as Mexican Baroque, refers to Baroque art in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. During this period, artists of New Spain experimented with expressive, contrasting, and realistic creative approaches, making art that became highly popular in New Spanish society.
Among notable artworks are polychrome sculptures, which as well as the technical skill they display, reflect the expressiveness and the colour contrasts characteristic of New Spanish Baroque.
Two styles can be traced in the architecture of New Spain: the Salomónico, developed from the mid-17th century, and the Estípite, which began in the early 18th century.
A model of the Cathedral of Puebla represents the architectural magnificence of New Spain. A choir book and a harpsichord of the 18th century highlight the importance of music for the colonial society of the Baroque period in Mexico.
Painting
In the realm of painting, New Spanish baroque had great artists whose works are in museums such as the Museum of the Viceroyalty in Tepotzotlán, El Carmen Museum in San Ángel, Santa Mónica Museum in Puebla, and Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.
Among the most distinguished artists were: Miguel Cabrera Juan Correa Cristóbal de Villalpando Simón Pereyns
Simón Pereyns
Simón Pereyns lived in Antwerp then Mexico . He was a Flemish painter and in 1558, he moved to Lisbon and then to Madrid, where he worked as a court artist.
In 1566, he went to New Spain, achieved fame with his paintings in Mexico. Many works are attributed to him, but most of them have been lost; among those conserved are the ten tables of the altarpiece of Huejotzingo (1586), which revealed the influence of Dürer and his work on Saint Christopher (1585).
Pereyns was put on trial on religious charges. His beliefs were inherited from his ancestors, specifically his father, who was a Lutheran. While he was in prison, he painted a picture called "Our Lady of Atonement", hoping to win a pardon. He was released and donated the painting to the Archbishop of Mexico, whose successors mounted it on the Altar del Perdón at the Metropolitan Cathedral.
Juan Correa
Juan Correa (1646-1716) was a Novohispanic painter active between 1676 and 1716. His painting covers topics both religious and secular. One of his best works is considered to be the "Assumption of the Virgin" in the Cathedral of Mexico City; several of his works depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe found their way to Spain. He also made paintings of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Rome in 1669.
Cristóbal de Villalpando
Some of Cristóbal de Villalpando's ( – 1714) early work dates from 1675 with the high altar of the Franciscan convent of St. Martin of Tours in Huaquechula, where there are 17 of his paintings; but that is not necessarily the beginning of his career. It is likely that the painter was born in Mexico City in 1649. Little is known about his childhood and adolescence, the earliest documented date being his wedding in 1669. He married María de Mendoza, with whom he had four children.
Undoubtedly, Villalpando was one of the foremost painters of Mexico City during the latter part of the 17th century, as evidenced by the collection of triumphal paintings that were commissioned by the council of the Cathedral of Mexico, for decorating the walls of the sacristy of the church. The canvases prepared for that commission were: The Triumph of the Catholic Church, The Triumph of St. Peter, St. Michael's victory (known as Woman of the Apocalypse) and the appearance of St. Michael on Mount Gargano. Unfortunately, due to structural faults in the vaults of the building, Villalpando was unable to complete the intended set of six paintings; they were completed by Juan Correa.
Due to this hindrance to his work at Mexico City, Villalpando moved to Puebla de los Ángeles where he carried out similar work at the Cathedral there. He produced a well-known oil painting titled "Glorification of the Virgin", in the dome of the Chapel de Los Reyes located in the end wall of the church. It is also worth noting the amount of his work found in the church of the Profesa in Mexico City. His importance was recognized by the painters' guild, of which he became leader on several occasions. He reached old age with a great reputation, and he was recognized as an important stylistic influence on later generations. He is considered one of the last exponents of Baroque painting in New Spain: after his death New Spanish plastic art took a different path.