Papers by Juan Luis Burke
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 2024
H-Art: Revista de Historia, Teoría y Crítica del Arte, 2023
For architects, books are a fundamental tool for the
dissemination of ideas and knowledge related... more For architects, books are a fundamental tool for the
dissemination of ideas and knowledge related to their
profession. At the same time, architecture books
constitute a broad and, at the same time, spread literary
genre that encompasses both monographic works and
reflections on the urban environment, and even all kinds
of spatial fictions. Defining the books of architects or
the relationship between architects and books is not a
simple task. However, a panoramic view of the diverse
relationships between books and architects shows that
they not only constitute a fundamental part for the
dissemination of knowledge about the profession but
also are part of the architectural work itself. This article
takes a journey through different types of architecture
books across various epochs and geographies to reflect
on the complex book-architecture relationship presented
in this issue of the H-ART journal, highlighting the rich
interaction between architecture and books as a way to
(re)think architecture beyond the building.
Arts, 2023
This article analyzes the urban and architectural transformations in the Villa de Guadalupe, the ... more This article analyzes the urban and architectural transformations in the Villa de Guadalupe, the site where the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe originated, in present-day Mexico City, on behalf of Creole architects, urban planners, and clerics. The article argues that members of Mexico City’s Creole elite played a critical role in fabricating a fervent cult of a dark-skinned Madonna while orchestrating dramatic changes to the site of the apparitions, which transformed it from a humble Indigenous village into the religious and spiritual heart of New Spain. The essay focuses its attention on the town’s urban and architectural changes during the eighteenth century, which is when the village of Guadalupe was transformed into a veritable “villa”, a special designation for an urban establishment in the early modern Hispanic world, which vested it with certain legal autonomy. The story of the urban and architectural transformations and innovations at this site is fascinating, given the ambition on behalf of Mexico City’s Creoles to appropriate it and its success in promoting it as the source of Mexico City’s and New Spain’s claims to exceptionality by divine designation. The Virgin Mary’s appearances to a humble young Indigenous man in an impoverished Native village near Mexico City, which became the spiritual center of New Spain, became a potent narrative wielded by the Creole elite, as they sought to assert their political claims in the face of staunch opposition from Spanish-born administrators and clergy. At the Villa de Guadalupe, as this essay reveals, Creole elites tested their political, urban planning, and architectural skills, asserting their cultural and political relevance in 18th-century Mexico City.
Conversion Machines: Apparatus, Artifice, Body. Bronwen Wilson and Paul Yachnin (eds.). University of Edinburgh Press, 2023
Epidemic Urbanism: How Contagious Diseases have Shaped Global Cities, 2021
In the winter of 1736, the citizens of the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, located in central Mexi... more In the winter of 1736, the citizens of the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, located in central Mexico, received news of a matlazahuatl (plague in the Nahuatl language) outbreak in Mexico City, the capital of New Spain (viceregal Mexico). Mexico City is located just one hundred and thirty kilometers to Puebla’s northwest, so Poblanos knew the epidemic would arrive in a matter of weeks or even days, and it would happen at the worst of times: the city was experiencing an economic downturn, and the year prior had been one of drought, both of which affected the region’s grain production and led to corn shortages that were causing hunger among the city’s poor.
This essay examines the infrastructure at the Hospital of San Pedro and its role during the pandemic of 1737 in Puebla. Through the experience of diverse epidemics, the hospital was transformed architecturally, particularly when the understanding that diseases could spread in cramped, unventilated spaces became popular in the late 18th century. San Pedro Hospital, during times of epidemic outbreaks, was forced to simultaneously react to its mission as a religiously-sponsored institution while positioning modern medical treatment practice as a central objective of its mandate.
Revista Bitácora - UNAM, 2019
Resumen: El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virr... more Resumen: El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virreinato de la Nueva España, al tiempo que argumenta que los tratados arquitectónicos renacentistas actuaron como artefactos colonialistas, es decir, fueron instrumentos para la propagación no sólo del clasicismo arquitectónico, sino de todo un corpus teórico sobre la construcción de la ciudad, entendida como locus de la civilización española, así como del decoro con el que debían erigirse los principales edificios representantes de las instituciones coloniales más importantes, tanto civiles como religiosos.
Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture, 2021
This essay analyzes the viceregal Mexican artist Juan Correa’s painting The Conversion of St. Mar... more This essay analyzes the viceregal Mexican artist Juan Correa’s painting The Conversion of St. Mary Magdalene, from the late seventeenth century. A depiction of a woman explicitly displaying traits of her sensuality and sexuality in a Mexican viceregal artwork, the painting visually conveys symbolic embodiments of the feminine condition. These embodiments refer to religious penitence, self-reflection, mysticism, and the vita contemplativa. Moreover, I examine the episodic nature of the painting, associating it with feminine devotional practices. The painting’s pictorial configuration apparently relates to the Jesuit theological tradition, specifically to the spatial and embodied representations expressed in the engravings contained in the Adnotationes et meditationes in evangelia (1595), by Jerónimo Nadal. The essay underscores how Correa represented, spatially, a series of notions related to feminine affections, sensibilities, religiosity, and spirituality. Finally, this investigation puts forward the thesis that the painting, as an artifact, prompted devotional prayer, fostering notions such as penitence and self-reflection, and aiming to help its worshippers achieve reformatio or spiritual conversion.
Este ensayo analiza La conversión de Santa María Magdalena, un cuadro de finales del siglo XVII del artista virreinal mexicano Juan Correa. Mediante la representación de una mujer que muestra explícitamente rasgos de su sensualidad y sexualidad en el arte virreinal mexicano, esta obra transmite visualmente encarnaciones simbólicas de la condición femenina. Dichas encarnaciones hacen referencia a la penitencia religiosa, la autorreflexión, el misticismo y la vita contemplativa. Además, examino la naturaleza episódica de la pintura, asociándola con prácticas devocionales femeninas. La configuración pictórica del cuadro aparentemente se relaciona con la tradición teológica jesuita, específicamente con las representaciones espaciales y corporizadas expresadas en los grabados contenidos en las Adnotationes et meditationes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. El ensayo destaca la manera en que Correa representó espacialmente una serie de nociones relacionadas con los afectos, las sensibilidades, la religiosidad y la espiritualidad femeninos. Finalmente, esta investigación plantea la tesis de que la pintura, como artefacto, impulsó la oración devocional, fomentando nociones como la penitencia y la autorreflexión con el objetivo de ayudar a sus fieles a lograr la reformatio, o conversión espiritual.
Este ensaio analisa a pintura do artista do vice-reinado mexicano Juan Correa, A Conversão de Santa Maria Madalena, do final do século XVII. O retrato de uma mulher exibindo explicitamente traços de sua sensualidade e sexualidade em uma obra de arte do vice-reinado mexicano, a pintura transmite visualmente corporificações simbólicas da condição feminina. Essas corporificações se referem à penitência religiosa, à autorreflexão, ao misticismo e à vita contemplativa. Além disso, examino a natureza episódica da pintura, associando-a às práticas devocionais femininas. A configuração pictórica da pintura aparentemente se relaciona com a tradição teológica jesuíta, especificamente com as representações espaciais e corporais expressas nas gravuras contidas nas Adnotationes et meditaçãoes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. O ensaio destaca como Correa representou, espacialmente, uma série de noções relacionadas aos afetos, sensibilidades, religiosidade e espiritualidade femininas. Por fim, esta investigação propõe a tese de que a pintura, como artefato, suscitou a oração devocional, fomentando noções tais quais a penitência e a auto-reflexão, e tendo como objetivo ajudar seus adoradores a alcançarem o reformatio, ou conversão espiritual.
Bitácora Arquitectura
El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virreinato de... more El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virreinato de la Nueva España, al tiempo que argumenta que los tratados arquitectónicos renacentistas actuaron como artefactos colonialistas, es decir, fueron instrumentos para la propagación no sólo del clasicismo arquitectónico, sino de todo un corpus teórico sobre la construcción de la ciudad, entendida como locus de la civilización española, así como del decoro con el que debían erigirse los principales edificios representantes de las instituciones coloniales más importantes, tanto civiles como religiosos.
Arquitectónica: Departamento de Arquitectura, Universidad Iberoamericana, México, 2012
El siguiente ensayo se centra, en su primera parte, en la figura del arquitecto Frederick Kiesler... more El siguiente ensayo se centra, en su primera parte, en la figura del arquitecto Frederick Kiesler, nacido en el año de 1890 en territorio del entonces imperio Austro-Húngaro, actualmente Ucrania, y quien se desarrolla profesionalmente en los EEUU en una época en que el Estilo
Internacional rige las pautas de la concepción arquitectónica. Su
obra y su posición ideológica, tan allegada al Avant-Garde
centroeuropeo y al surrealismo, lo ponen en oposición diametral
con respecto a los ideales arquitectónicos de su época. Mi ensayo
pretende dar a conocer ciertas ideas suyas -tal vez las más íntimas
por proceder de su diario personal- ligadas a su proyecto
arquitectónico mejor conocido: la Casa sin Fin o Endless House. Dicha concepción arquitectónica pretendía cambiar, según Kiesler, la manera de
concebir al modelo de vivienda en cuanto a e çstablecer lazos de
interacción entre el usuario y la configuración espacial de la casa
misma. El ensayo entrelaza fragmentos del poco conocido diario
del arquitecto, publicado en los años 1960s en EEUU y hoy en día una
rareza bibliográfica, junto con ciertas ideas escritas por Bernard
Tschumi y Dalibor Vesely acerca de la intrincada relación entre el
movimiento surrealista y la arquitectura. La segunda parte analiza
la relación que hubo entre el surrealismo, la arquitectura y México,
y desemboca en una hipótesis con respecto a la importancia que el
encuentro entre Frederick Kiesler y Luis Barragán pudo haber tenido
sobre la arquitectura de este último.
Smarthistory , 2019
https://smarthistory.org/classical-architecture-viceregal-mexico/
The term “renaissance” gener... more https://smarthistory.org/classical-architecture-viceregal-mexico/
The term “renaissance” generally invokes images of Italian cities, buildings, and artworks, rather than images of American ones. However, the renaissance had tremendous repercussions on the American continents, and its influence can be found from Philadelphia to Buenos Aires. In fact, it might be more useful to think of the renaissance not as a European phenomenon at all, but as a wide-ranging cultural movement that centered on the rebirth and rediscovery of classical (ancient Greek and Roman) culture that sparked many innovations and changes in architecture, urbanism, pictorial art, theatre, science, literature, and more.
Inside the Ritual: Approaches, Practices and Representations in the Arts, 2016
The Via Crucis or devotional Way of the Cross is a theatrical, ritualistic staging of one of Chri... more The Via Crucis or devotional Way of the Cross is a theatrical, ritualistic staging of one of Christianity's main tenets, the Passion of Christ. In the Spanish American Continent, in the early modern period, and concurrent with the conversion of the indigenous peoples, the tradition of the Via Crucis was adopted together with the Christian faith. One of the most outstanding examples of these architectural complexes in Spanish America is found in the city of Puebla, Mexico, and is a testament to this city's explicit effort to mirror the city of Jerusalem—the axis mundi itself. This paper briefly contextualizes the Via Crucis by discussing the foundation of Puebla, upholding the idea that it strove to resonate with the archetype of the Heavenly Jerusalem since its inception. The discussion then shifts in order to address the history of this ritual complex, in order to close with a discussion about the way communal ritual actions were central to a city's identity as a res publica in the early modern period. https://www.colloqueartsmedias.ca/en/actes/2016/the-via-crucis-of-puebla-the-ritual-architecture-of1
The Routledge Handbook on the Reception of Classical Architecture, 2019
This essay surveys the development of urban theory in colonial Mexico.
Arquine, 2020
Yona Friedman: Las ciudades en las alturas y las utopías urbanas de la segunda mitad del siglo XX... more Yona Friedman: Las ciudades en las alturas y las utopías urbanas de la segunda mitad del siglo XX Juan Luis Burke 4 de marzo de 2020 El 21 de febrero de 2020, la cuenta de Instagram de Yona Friedman publicaba una foto del arquitecto, a la vez que comunicaba: "Luego de 96 años en esta tierra, Yona se ha mudado allá arriba para construir una Ciudad Espacial e instalar algunas Cadenas Espaciales en el cielo." 1 De esta manera, la Dotation Yona Friedman anunciaba el deceso de una de las figuras arquitectónicas más intrigantes del siglo XX .
Revista Bitácora - UNAM, 2019
Resumen: El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virr... more Resumen: El presente artículo discute la introducción de la teoría arquitectónica clásica al virreinato de la Nueva España, al tiempo que argumenta que los tratados arquitectónicos renacentistas actuaron como artefactos colonialistas, es decir, fueron instrumentos para la propagación no sólo del clasicismo arquitectónico, sino de todo un corpus teórico sobre la construcción de la ciudad, entendida como locus de la civilización española, así como del decoro con el que debían erigirse los principales edificios representantes de las instituciones coloniales más importantes, tanto civiles como religiosos.
De libros ingeniosos de la Biblioteca Palafoxiana y un manuscrito, 2018
Breve ensayo revisionista que subraya el valor del tratado de Sebastiano Serlio y su impacto en E... more Breve ensayo revisionista que subraya el valor del tratado de Sebastiano Serlio y su impacto en Europa y en el México virreinal.
Brief essay that underlines the impact of Sebastiano Serlio's architectural treatise, both in Europe and in viceregal Mexico.
369 Aniversario Biblioteca Palafoxiana, 2015
Este corto artículo analiza una edición del Architectura libri decem (Los diez libros de la arqui... more Este corto artículo analiza una edición del Architectura libri decem (Los diez libros de la arquitectura) de Vitruvio, edición de 1552, que incluye comentarios por parte de Guillaume de Philandrier, anotado por un lector anónimo. El ejemplar se encuentra en la Biblioteca Palafoxiana en Puebla de los Ángeles, México. El artículo comenta las anotaciones y la manera en que el Vitruvio fue leído por este lector anónimo. Las anotaciones, en turno, nos hablan acerca de la cultura arquitectónica y la manera de leer y estudiar tratados arquitectónicos en el periodo temprano moderno en la esfera del mundo hispánico.
This short paper analyzes the annotations and marginalia in a 1552 edition of Vitruvius' De architectura libri decem, an edition containing the commentaries by the French Humanist Guillaume de Philandrier and found in the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico. The article interprets the way the treatise was read by an anonymous reader of the sixteenth or seventeenth century, which in turn is a commentary on the way architectural treatises were read and studied in the Hispanic world of the early modern period.
Teaching Documents by Juan Luis Burke
The Global Renaissance project is a scholarly-pedagogical experiment, made up of content produced... more The Global Renaissance project is a scholarly-pedagogical experiment, made up of content produced by undergraduate students in the School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, at the University of Maryland-College Park, and headed by Juan Luis Burke, Ph.D., assistant professor of architectural and urban history at UMD.
The project operates under the premise that the teaching of architectural history has traditionally favored an idealization of the exceptional, and the teaching of Renaissance architectural history is no exception. The issue with this narrative is what is left out, namely, how classicism in the early modern period travels, is adopted beyond Italy, and becomes adapted, incorporated into local idioms, and for what reasons.
The Global Renaissance project features research into buildings localized in regions of the world that have traditionally been left out of the mainstream narratives, both in Europe and outside it.
Additionally, the histories of these buildings are stories of alterity, tied to shaping national or regional identities, exercises of power display, subjugation, or colonialism. These are stories, ultimately, of how the world became modern and globalized, and this project gives testament to the teaching and learning processes involved in discussing these issues. We hope that this webpage serves as a resource for anybody interested in learning more about architectural history in the early modern period as it relates to the concepts of the Renaissance, classicism, mannerism, Baroque, and other related ones, and may this site serve as inspiration for similar endeavors.
CONTACT: Juan Luis Burke, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, jlburke1@umd.edu
Books by Juan Luis Burke
Architecture and Urbanism in Viceregal Mexico presents a fascinating survey of urban history betw... more Architecture and Urbanism in Viceregal Mexico presents a fascinating survey of urban history between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. It chronicles the creation and development of Puebla de los Ángeles, a city located in central-south Mexico, during its viceregal period.
Founded in 1531, the city was established as a Spanish settlement surrounded by important Indigenous towns. This situation prompted a colonial city that developed along Spanish colonial guidelines but became influenced by the native communities that settled in it, creating one of the most architecturally rich cities in colonial Spanish America, from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods. This book covers the city's historical background, investigating its civic and religious institutions as represented in selected architectural landmarks. Throughout the narrative, Burke weaves together sociological, anthropological, and historical analysis to discuss the city's architectural and urban development.
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Papers by Juan Luis Burke
dissemination of ideas and knowledge related to their
profession. At the same time, architecture books
constitute a broad and, at the same time, spread literary
genre that encompasses both monographic works and
reflections on the urban environment, and even all kinds
of spatial fictions. Defining the books of architects or
the relationship between architects and books is not a
simple task. However, a panoramic view of the diverse
relationships between books and architects shows that
they not only constitute a fundamental part for the
dissemination of knowledge about the profession but
also are part of the architectural work itself. This article
takes a journey through different types of architecture
books across various epochs and geographies to reflect
on the complex book-architecture relationship presented
in this issue of the H-ART journal, highlighting the rich
interaction between architecture and books as a way to
(re)think architecture beyond the building.
This essay examines the infrastructure at the Hospital of San Pedro and its role during the pandemic of 1737 in Puebla. Through the experience of diverse epidemics, the hospital was transformed architecturally, particularly when the understanding that diseases could spread in cramped, unventilated spaces became popular in the late 18th century. San Pedro Hospital, during times of epidemic outbreaks, was forced to simultaneously react to its mission as a religiously-sponsored institution while positioning modern medical treatment practice as a central objective of its mandate.
Este ensayo analiza La conversión de Santa María Magdalena, un cuadro de finales del siglo XVII del artista virreinal mexicano Juan Correa. Mediante la representación de una mujer que muestra explícitamente rasgos de su sensualidad y sexualidad en el arte virreinal mexicano, esta obra transmite visualmente encarnaciones simbólicas de la condición femenina. Dichas encarnaciones hacen referencia a la penitencia religiosa, la autorreflexión, el misticismo y la vita contemplativa. Además, examino la naturaleza episódica de la pintura, asociándola con prácticas devocionales femeninas. La configuración pictórica del cuadro aparentemente se relaciona con la tradición teológica jesuita, específicamente con las representaciones espaciales y corporizadas expresadas en los grabados contenidos en las Adnotationes et meditationes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. El ensayo destaca la manera en que Correa representó espacialmente una serie de nociones relacionadas con los afectos, las sensibilidades, la religiosidad y la espiritualidad femeninos. Finalmente, esta investigación plantea la tesis de que la pintura, como artefacto, impulsó la oración devocional, fomentando nociones como la penitencia y la autorreflexión con el objetivo de ayudar a sus fieles a lograr la reformatio, o conversión espiritual.
Este ensaio analisa a pintura do artista do vice-reinado mexicano Juan Correa, A Conversão de Santa Maria Madalena, do final do século XVII. O retrato de uma mulher exibindo explicitamente traços de sua sensualidade e sexualidade em uma obra de arte do vice-reinado mexicano, a pintura transmite visualmente corporificações simbólicas da condição feminina. Essas corporificações se referem à penitência religiosa, à autorreflexão, ao misticismo e à vita contemplativa. Além disso, examino a natureza episódica da pintura, associando-a às práticas devocionais femininas. A configuração pictórica da pintura aparentemente se relaciona com a tradição teológica jesuíta, especificamente com as representações espaciais e corporais expressas nas gravuras contidas nas Adnotationes et meditaçãoes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. O ensaio destaca como Correa representou, espacialmente, uma série de noções relacionadas aos afetos, sensibilidades, religiosidade e espiritualidade femininas. Por fim, esta investigação propõe a tese de que a pintura, como artefato, suscitou a oração devocional, fomentando noções tais quais a penitência e a auto-reflexão, e tendo como objetivo ajudar seus adoradores a alcançarem o reformatio, ou conversão espiritual.
Internacional rige las pautas de la concepción arquitectónica. Su
obra y su posición ideológica, tan allegada al Avant-Garde
centroeuropeo y al surrealismo, lo ponen en oposición diametral
con respecto a los ideales arquitectónicos de su época. Mi ensayo
pretende dar a conocer ciertas ideas suyas -tal vez las más íntimas
por proceder de su diario personal- ligadas a su proyecto
arquitectónico mejor conocido: la Casa sin Fin o Endless House. Dicha concepción arquitectónica pretendía cambiar, según Kiesler, la manera de
concebir al modelo de vivienda en cuanto a e çstablecer lazos de
interacción entre el usuario y la configuración espacial de la casa
misma. El ensayo entrelaza fragmentos del poco conocido diario
del arquitecto, publicado en los años 1960s en EEUU y hoy en día una
rareza bibliográfica, junto con ciertas ideas escritas por Bernard
Tschumi y Dalibor Vesely acerca de la intrincada relación entre el
movimiento surrealista y la arquitectura. La segunda parte analiza
la relación que hubo entre el surrealismo, la arquitectura y México,
y desemboca en una hipótesis con respecto a la importancia que el
encuentro entre Frederick Kiesler y Luis Barragán pudo haber tenido
sobre la arquitectura de este último.
The term “renaissance” generally invokes images of Italian cities, buildings, and artworks, rather than images of American ones. However, the renaissance had tremendous repercussions on the American continents, and its influence can be found from Philadelphia to Buenos Aires. In fact, it might be more useful to think of the renaissance not as a European phenomenon at all, but as a wide-ranging cultural movement that centered on the rebirth and rediscovery of classical (ancient Greek and Roman) culture that sparked many innovations and changes in architecture, urbanism, pictorial art, theatre, science, literature, and more.
Brief essay that underlines the impact of Sebastiano Serlio's architectural treatise, both in Europe and in viceregal Mexico.
Publicado en Arquine en línea:
https://www.arquine.com/notre-dame-de-paris-en-llamas/
This short paper analyzes the annotations and marginalia in a 1552 edition of Vitruvius' De architectura libri decem, an edition containing the commentaries by the French Humanist Guillaume de Philandrier and found in the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico. The article interprets the way the treatise was read by an anonymous reader of the sixteenth or seventeenth century, which in turn is a commentary on the way architectural treatises were read and studied in the Hispanic world of the early modern period.
Teaching Documents by Juan Luis Burke
The project operates under the premise that the teaching of architectural history has traditionally favored an idealization of the exceptional, and the teaching of Renaissance architectural history is no exception. The issue with this narrative is what is left out, namely, how classicism in the early modern period travels, is adopted beyond Italy, and becomes adapted, incorporated into local idioms, and for what reasons.
The Global Renaissance project features research into buildings localized in regions of the world that have traditionally been left out of the mainstream narratives, both in Europe and outside it.
Additionally, the histories of these buildings are stories of alterity, tied to shaping national or regional identities, exercises of power display, subjugation, or colonialism. These are stories, ultimately, of how the world became modern and globalized, and this project gives testament to the teaching and learning processes involved in discussing these issues. We hope that this webpage serves as a resource for anybody interested in learning more about architectural history in the early modern period as it relates to the concepts of the Renaissance, classicism, mannerism, Baroque, and other related ones, and may this site serve as inspiration for similar endeavors.
CONTACT: Juan Luis Burke, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, jlburke1@umd.edu
Books by Juan Luis Burke
Founded in 1531, the city was established as a Spanish settlement surrounded by important Indigenous towns. This situation prompted a colonial city that developed along Spanish colonial guidelines but became influenced by the native communities that settled in it, creating one of the most architecturally rich cities in colonial Spanish America, from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods. This book covers the city's historical background, investigating its civic and religious institutions as represented in selected architectural landmarks. Throughout the narrative, Burke weaves together sociological, anthropological, and historical analysis to discuss the city's architectural and urban development.
dissemination of ideas and knowledge related to their
profession. At the same time, architecture books
constitute a broad and, at the same time, spread literary
genre that encompasses both monographic works and
reflections on the urban environment, and even all kinds
of spatial fictions. Defining the books of architects or
the relationship between architects and books is not a
simple task. However, a panoramic view of the diverse
relationships between books and architects shows that
they not only constitute a fundamental part for the
dissemination of knowledge about the profession but
also are part of the architectural work itself. This article
takes a journey through different types of architecture
books across various epochs and geographies to reflect
on the complex book-architecture relationship presented
in this issue of the H-ART journal, highlighting the rich
interaction between architecture and books as a way to
(re)think architecture beyond the building.
This essay examines the infrastructure at the Hospital of San Pedro and its role during the pandemic of 1737 in Puebla. Through the experience of diverse epidemics, the hospital was transformed architecturally, particularly when the understanding that diseases could spread in cramped, unventilated spaces became popular in the late 18th century. San Pedro Hospital, during times of epidemic outbreaks, was forced to simultaneously react to its mission as a religiously-sponsored institution while positioning modern medical treatment practice as a central objective of its mandate.
Este ensayo analiza La conversión de Santa María Magdalena, un cuadro de finales del siglo XVII del artista virreinal mexicano Juan Correa. Mediante la representación de una mujer que muestra explícitamente rasgos de su sensualidad y sexualidad en el arte virreinal mexicano, esta obra transmite visualmente encarnaciones simbólicas de la condición femenina. Dichas encarnaciones hacen referencia a la penitencia religiosa, la autorreflexión, el misticismo y la vita contemplativa. Además, examino la naturaleza episódica de la pintura, asociándola con prácticas devocionales femeninas. La configuración pictórica del cuadro aparentemente se relaciona con la tradición teológica jesuita, específicamente con las representaciones espaciales y corporizadas expresadas en los grabados contenidos en las Adnotationes et meditationes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. El ensayo destaca la manera en que Correa representó espacialmente una serie de nociones relacionadas con los afectos, las sensibilidades, la religiosidad y la espiritualidad femeninos. Finalmente, esta investigación plantea la tesis de que la pintura, como artefacto, impulsó la oración devocional, fomentando nociones como la penitencia y la autorreflexión con el objetivo de ayudar a sus fieles a lograr la reformatio, o conversión espiritual.
Este ensaio analisa a pintura do artista do vice-reinado mexicano Juan Correa, A Conversão de Santa Maria Madalena, do final do século XVII. O retrato de uma mulher exibindo explicitamente traços de sua sensualidade e sexualidade em uma obra de arte do vice-reinado mexicano, a pintura transmite visualmente corporificações simbólicas da condição feminina. Essas corporificações se referem à penitência religiosa, à autorreflexão, ao misticismo e à vita contemplativa. Além disso, examino a natureza episódica da pintura, associando-a às práticas devocionais femininas. A configuração pictórica da pintura aparentemente se relaciona com a tradição teológica jesuíta, especificamente com as representações espaciais e corporais expressas nas gravuras contidas nas Adnotationes et meditaçãoes in evangelia (1595), de Jerónimo Nadal. O ensaio destaca como Correa representou, espacialmente, uma série de noções relacionadas aos afetos, sensibilidades, religiosidade e espiritualidade femininas. Por fim, esta investigação propõe a tese de que a pintura, como artefato, suscitou a oração devocional, fomentando noções tais quais a penitência e a auto-reflexão, e tendo como objetivo ajudar seus adoradores a alcançarem o reformatio, ou conversão espiritual.
Internacional rige las pautas de la concepción arquitectónica. Su
obra y su posición ideológica, tan allegada al Avant-Garde
centroeuropeo y al surrealismo, lo ponen en oposición diametral
con respecto a los ideales arquitectónicos de su época. Mi ensayo
pretende dar a conocer ciertas ideas suyas -tal vez las más íntimas
por proceder de su diario personal- ligadas a su proyecto
arquitectónico mejor conocido: la Casa sin Fin o Endless House. Dicha concepción arquitectónica pretendía cambiar, según Kiesler, la manera de
concebir al modelo de vivienda en cuanto a e çstablecer lazos de
interacción entre el usuario y la configuración espacial de la casa
misma. El ensayo entrelaza fragmentos del poco conocido diario
del arquitecto, publicado en los años 1960s en EEUU y hoy en día una
rareza bibliográfica, junto con ciertas ideas escritas por Bernard
Tschumi y Dalibor Vesely acerca de la intrincada relación entre el
movimiento surrealista y la arquitectura. La segunda parte analiza
la relación que hubo entre el surrealismo, la arquitectura y México,
y desemboca en una hipótesis con respecto a la importancia que el
encuentro entre Frederick Kiesler y Luis Barragán pudo haber tenido
sobre la arquitectura de este último.
The term “renaissance” generally invokes images of Italian cities, buildings, and artworks, rather than images of American ones. However, the renaissance had tremendous repercussions on the American continents, and its influence can be found from Philadelphia to Buenos Aires. In fact, it might be more useful to think of the renaissance not as a European phenomenon at all, but as a wide-ranging cultural movement that centered on the rebirth and rediscovery of classical (ancient Greek and Roman) culture that sparked many innovations and changes in architecture, urbanism, pictorial art, theatre, science, literature, and more.
Brief essay that underlines the impact of Sebastiano Serlio's architectural treatise, both in Europe and in viceregal Mexico.
Publicado en Arquine en línea:
https://www.arquine.com/notre-dame-de-paris-en-llamas/
This short paper analyzes the annotations and marginalia in a 1552 edition of Vitruvius' De architectura libri decem, an edition containing the commentaries by the French Humanist Guillaume de Philandrier and found in the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, in the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico. The article interprets the way the treatise was read by an anonymous reader of the sixteenth or seventeenth century, which in turn is a commentary on the way architectural treatises were read and studied in the Hispanic world of the early modern period.
The project operates under the premise that the teaching of architectural history has traditionally favored an idealization of the exceptional, and the teaching of Renaissance architectural history is no exception. The issue with this narrative is what is left out, namely, how classicism in the early modern period travels, is adopted beyond Italy, and becomes adapted, incorporated into local idioms, and for what reasons.
The Global Renaissance project features research into buildings localized in regions of the world that have traditionally been left out of the mainstream narratives, both in Europe and outside it.
Additionally, the histories of these buildings are stories of alterity, tied to shaping national or regional identities, exercises of power display, subjugation, or colonialism. These are stories, ultimately, of how the world became modern and globalized, and this project gives testament to the teaching and learning processes involved in discussing these issues. We hope that this webpage serves as a resource for anybody interested in learning more about architectural history in the early modern period as it relates to the concepts of the Renaissance, classicism, mannerism, Baroque, and other related ones, and may this site serve as inspiration for similar endeavors.
CONTACT: Juan Luis Burke, Assistant Professor, University of Maryland, College Park, jlburke1@umd.edu
Founded in 1531, the city was established as a Spanish settlement surrounded by important Indigenous towns. This situation prompted a colonial city that developed along Spanish colonial guidelines but became influenced by the native communities that settled in it, creating one of the most architecturally rich cities in colonial Spanish America, from the Renaissance to the Baroque periods. This book covers the city's historical background, investigating its civic and religious institutions as represented in selected architectural landmarks. Throughout the narrative, Burke weaves together sociological, anthropological, and historical analysis to discuss the city's architectural and urban development.
Juan Luis Burke reorders urban spaces in colonial Mexico, through Cristóbal de Villalpando's 1695 painting, View of the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City.
The Plaza Mayor sits at the historical heart of the sprawling megalopolis of Mexico City. Previously the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, it became the Mesoamerican capital of the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. With his expansive, bird’s eye view, Cristóbal de Villalpando depicts everyday encounters between classes and clashes against the colonial urban order for the viceroyalty's eye. Now housed in England, this colonial commission shows the Plaza as a marketplace of imperial ideas, revealing co-option and cooperation between indigenous Mexicans, Asian merchants, and European and Spanish colonisers. Five hundred years after the fall of the ancient Aztec imperial capital, Tenochtitlán, the Plaza Mayor in Mexico City remains a site of protest today.
PRESENTER: Dr. Juan Luis Burke, Assistant Professor of Architectural and Urban History at the University of Maryland.
ART: View of the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City, Cristóbal de Villalpando, (c.1695).
IMAGE: ‘View of the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City'.
SOUNDS: Victrola.
PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic.
Few early modern European ruling dynasties generate such fascination as the Spanish Habsburgs. In particular, the figures of Charles V and Philip II are well-known as monarchs who understood how architecture could be employed to propagate an image of empire and did so by patronizing such works as El Escorial, the Alcázar de Toledo, the Alcázar de Madrid, and Charles’s palace at La Alhambra, while Philip reimagined Madrid as the empire’s capital city.
Turning away from these figures, in Jesús Escobar’s new book, Habsburg Madrid: Architecture and the Spanish Monarchy, the author focuses on the period from 1620 to 1700, which includes the reigns of Philip IV, the regency of Mariana of Austria, and Carlos II’s reign, which marked the end of Habsburg rule in Spain and its overseas territories.