Conquest of Mexico

Various scenes are depicted in this painting, which forms part of a set of 6 panels made using the shellwork technique. Each of them has a letter which corresponds to an explanation in the sign below. The appointment of Cortés as Captain General, the construction of the “Villa Rica” or Cortés entering Zempuala, where he is welcomed by the “Fat Cacique”. Numerous chroniclers narrated the different scenes of the Conquest of Mexico. They were the inspiration for many artists of various pictorial series in which the images described the most important events of the story. This series, although anonymous, is directly related to the same subject signed by Juan and Miguel González, the most renowned artists of the shellwork technique.