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拍品专文
Born in Capri, Gualdi, an avid traveler and romanticist, settled in Mexico City in 1835 where he remained for thirteen years originally as a stage designer for the touring Italian opera company of Madame Albini and eventually (after the company retuned to Europe) becoming immersed in the city's thriving cultural and architectural development becoming its unofficial documentarian through countless paintings and lithographs.
Indeed Gualdi's arrival in Mexico City coincided with a period of immense growth and urban development under the government of Santa Anna including the construction of the iconic Plaza Mayor and the Teatro Nacional. As the former colonial market-- the Parián--was demolished in the early 1840s plans were unveiled for a modern town square that would anchor the city and whose central axis point would boast a monumental column-a symbol of the burgeoning nation's independence. Designed by the Spanish architect Lorenzo de la Hidalga, the proposed monument was an immediate success among the city's residents and in 1843 Gualdi ceased the moment to render the architectural plans in a beautiful panoramic vista that encompasses the full design of the grand plaza along with Lorenzo's ornate and classically inspired column. In addition to the painting, cognizant of the project's mass appeal and the public's great expectations Gualdi also made two lithographic versions of the painting with subtle variations which he sold for two pesos each. A year later Gualdi was commissioned to replicate his painting on the theatre curtains of the newly inaugurated Teatro Nacional. Despite the early fanfare, Lorenzo's monument was never built except for its foundation or zócalo which interestingly is from where the square's nickname today is derived. Ultimately Gualdi's rendering functions much like one of his stage designs--an ambitious image of a utopian vision that captivated the public's imagination but proved to be more theatre then reality, albeit an earnest metaphor for the aspirations of a young nation at the brink of the modern era.
Indeed Gualdi's arrival in Mexico City coincided with a period of immense growth and urban development under the government of Santa Anna including the construction of the iconic Plaza Mayor and the Teatro Nacional. As the former colonial market-- the Parián--was demolished in the early 1840s plans were unveiled for a modern town square that would anchor the city and whose central axis point would boast a monumental column-a symbol of the burgeoning nation's independence. Designed by the Spanish architect Lorenzo de la Hidalga, the proposed monument was an immediate success among the city's residents and in 1843 Gualdi ceased the moment to render the architectural plans in a beautiful panoramic vista that encompasses the full design of the grand plaza along with Lorenzo's ornate and classically inspired column. In addition to the painting, cognizant of the project's mass appeal and the public's great expectations Gualdi also made two lithographic versions of the painting with subtle variations which he sold for two pesos each. A year later Gualdi was commissioned to replicate his painting on the theatre curtains of the newly inaugurated Teatro Nacional. Despite the early fanfare, Lorenzo's monument was never built except for its foundation or zócalo which interestingly is from where the square's nickname today is derived. Ultimately Gualdi's rendering functions much like one of his stage designs--an ambitious image of a utopian vision that captivated the public's imagination but proved to be more theatre then reality, albeit an earnest metaphor for the aspirations of a young nation at the brink of the modern era.