With ruins as a guide: three suburban
villas in Mexico City [1]
Hugo Arciniega Ávila [2]
* *
*
1.
A villa
is, in its widest and most traditional sense, a rural or suburban property
dedicated to agricultural, livestock production and/or the processing of wine
and olive oil, consolidated as an architectural typology in ancient Rome. The
most visible building of the central architectural complex is the owner’s
house, distinguished from other buildings by the quality of its construction
materials, the spaciousness of its facilities and its ornamental wealth.[3]
2.
With
Mediterranean origin, the physical characteristics of a villa began to
be studied in the mid-18th century by means of early archaeological excavation
methods implemented in the cities of Rome, Herculaneum and Pompeii. As from
then, this housing typology was cyclically renewed according to the owner’s
needs and the creativity of the architects and artists involved in its design,
construction and ornamentation. This type of residence was gradually
consolidated as a refuge or retreat from the hubbub inherent to urban life: the
impressive heritage of the Italian Renaissance can be found in it, if I should
refer to only one historical period. The villa’s layout, even of the
modern one, is inspired in the Greco-Roman world and constitutes a valuable
referent to how to approach this world. In this study, I intend to demonstrate
that this expression of the classical tradition inspired at least three of the
most important architects of the 18th and 19th centuries in Mexico, the last of
which decided to build a villa in order to live there with his family.
3.
Looking
for bibliographic precedents on Roman villas in the New Spain context,
besides architectural treatises, I found that one of the earliest texts on this
subject is still preserved is the Villa Borghese by Domenico Montelatici, work published in Rome by Francesco Buagni, renowned printer, in 1700.[4]
The copy I consulted belongs to the Jesuit College of San Ildefonso, founded in
Mexico City. Having identified this important reference – maybe not the only
one available at the time, which suggests that suburban buildings were known by
the intellectual milieu –, I will begin this tour at the famous Casa de los mascarones (House
of the Masks) [Figure 1], [5] owned by don Jose Viveros
Hurtado de Mendoza, the seventh Count of the Valle de Orizaba. Its outstanding
urban counterpart still exists and is known as the “Casa de los
azulejos” (House of the Tiles), near the convent of San Francisco the Great.[6]
Therefore, as from that time, it is possible to discern the clients’ intention
to have their homes enhanced with an ornamental exuberance that went beyond the
local baroque expression.
4.
I
would like to emphasize here three essential characteristics of this unique
construction built between 1766 and 1771 which I consider an unavoidable
precedent on the subject [Figure 2]: its
location on the old driveway known as the Ribera de San Cosme;
the inclusion, in its architectural program, of spacious and well-defined green
areas for the solace of the owners rather than for large-scale farming,
disposed as a closed garden with a geometric design and wooded walkways favourable for horse riding; and finally, a distribution
that allows the owner’s rooms to be half a level higher than the service areas.
Besides highlighting the hierarchy of the occupants, a noble family, this
resource protected them from the dampness inherent to the soil’s swampy origin.
Regarding the greco-latin evocation, it is very
significant that six of the eight estipite pilasters
that adorn the façade were humanized in the upper third so as to include
Corinthian capitals. Clearly the yet unknown master builder began to define the
future vocation of an intermediate region between the countryside and the city.[7]
The Site
5.
The
Tlacopan driveway is one of the two axes that defined the original urban plan
of the City of Mexico. Following the sun’s movement from sunrise to sunset, it
went from the Aztec ceremonial site and concluded, on solid ground, in the
allied city of Tacuba. This was the road used by the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortes and his army to flee during the tragic, for
them, “Night of Sorrows”. In use for more than 450 years, this road was the
most important entrance to the city and determined its growth westwards.
6.
As the
waters of the lake retracted, fertile meadows emerged which were almost
immediately turned into to orchards, olive groves and grazing areas; a
landscape that contrasted with the barrenness of the salty fields of the north.
Already in the 17th century, the solidness of the driveway made it an
advantageous place on which to build the arches of the second aqueduct that
supplied the city; this waterway came from the springs in Santa Fe and ended at
the Mariscala fountain, behind the convent of Santa
Isabel. Thereafter, the region had a relatively abundant water supply, a
benefit that the other quadrants in which the settlement was divided for its
administration and government lacked. Its altitude, the direction of the wind
and the availability of water helped the Franciscans to decide to found there
an extramural hospital, entrusted to the saint physicians Cosmas and Damian.
That is the origin of the name of Ribera de San Cosme,
a space that was free of floods for a long time and, according to the traveller’s direction, started or ended at the gatehouse of
the pious institution. In the early 19th century, the vaults of the hospital’s
church served as a viewpoint of the urban sight which comprised numerous domes
and steeples, with snow-capped volcanoes in the background [Figure 3]. As well as Casa de las Mascarones,
still unfinished, and other older and more austere properties, there were two
others, characterized by boulevards and big houses used seasonally, that
already stood out at that time. A new way of life began to consolidate in the
vicinity of this American version of the “Via Appia
Antica”.
7.
Though
the master builders trained in the guild were familiar with architecture
treatises, especially the De Re Aedificatoria,
by Leon Battista Alberti (1485), and the Regola
deli ordinary cinque d'architecture, by
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (Rome, 1562), it was also true that as from the
founding of the Academy of the Three Noble Arts of San Carlos, De Architectura by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was established
as the book used for training young architects. A section of that book is
dedicated to country houses, emphasizing the importance of adequate orientation
so that they will receive enough daylight and have good air circulation.
The villa
Buena Vista
8.
The
second villa has been attributed to the Valencian sculptor Manuel Tolsá (Enguera, Valencia, Spain,
1757 - Mexico City, 1816).[8] Besides having created the Roman casts
gallery at the New Spain Academy and having been named its director, first of
the sculpture and later of the architecture departments, Manuel Tolsá’s legacy includes the most representative buildings
of the Enlightenment in New Spain. Concerning the work here at issue, it is
important to note that the artist knew the western area of Mexico City, as he
compiled a detailed plan of this region in which he included a project for a
public fountain.[9]
9.
The villa
Buenavista [Figure 4, Figure 5 and Figure 6]was built under the composition rules imposed in
America by the Bourbon monarchs and may have been completed during the first
decade of the 19th century.[10] The evolution of the architectural
typology continued its course, increasingly attached to European referents: the
platform mound of the main façade follows a concave line that welcomes the
visitor;[11] on the main floor or piano nobile, straight and curved pediments are inserted in the
manner of the Roman palaces. In spite of that, the central balcony still stands
out, defined by smooth shafted columns located just above the main entrance,
where the Count of Buenavista and his family would attend public events. The
decision obeyed a more symbolic than practical design, first, because the
property was far from the urban rituals and, second, because the Count of
Buenavista, son of Dona Maria Josefa Gomez Rodriguez de Pinillos,
the second Marquise de Selva Nevada, died before the work was completed. The
wealthy and powerful Counts of Pérez Gálvez were
those who really enjoyed the oval courtyard, with its remarkable optical
corrections, and a new layout conception [Figure 7 and Figure 8] that
displaced the main staircase towards one extreme. This allowed the projection of
the North-South axis up to the arcade that opened into a large garden, in which
driveways, species, layers and elements of attraction underwent changes
according to the fashions coming from across the Atlantic.
10.
This
suburban property not only marks a formal change between the use of estipite supports, as in Los Mascarones,
and the systematic study of the classical orders, but it also assigns to
the typical central courtyard a unique oval-shaped plan. The palace of Charles
V built by Pedro Machuca in the Alhambra, Granada, is
apparently its most immediate reference. To solve this problem, Tolsá’s eyes seem to have been directed towards Italian
Renaissance rather than Roman antiquity. However, the villa Buenavista
remained a paradigm of good taste throughout the 19th century. It was not by
chance that the Mexican painter Francisco Javier Alvarez de la Torre chose it
as a model in order to pass his building drawing course in the National School
for Fine Arts in 1859 [Figure 9].[12] The
small painting represents a unique opportunity to get to see it from the
privacy of its enclosed garden, a sumptuous environment for the residents and
their guests. The southern façade was deployed with the smoothness and
monochrome given by the finishing plaster layers, now lost. A high arcade
supporting a large terrace advances from the centre,
from where the best views of the green areas extending beyond the walls could
be enjoyed. The human figures are lost in the composition, a device used to
insinuate the scale of the construction. Their isolation in different areas
also accounts for the effective spatial transition leading from the busy
Tlacopan driveway to this inner orchard, that is, innovative spatial sequences
are revealed in the transition from public to private.
Don Lorenzo’s
rounds
11.
When
General Mariano Arista governed the young Mexican Republic (1851 - 1853), the
nobiliary coat of arms had already disappeared from the large urban houses, but
not the well-earned prestige of the Ribera de San Cosme
as a privileged place. In the portraits of Anacleto
Polidura and his sons [Figure 10] and Josefina Antonia Eguia
de Gil y Polidura [Figure 11],[13]
the French painter Éduard Pingret (Saint Quentin,
France, 1788-1875) left another invaluable testimony about the ways rainy days
elapsed for the wealthy families in the suburban villas of Mexico City.
Built by the Spanish architect Lorenzo Hidalga y Musitu (Alava, Spain, 1810 - Mexico City, 1872) for his
friend Anacleto Polidura
Gil, the house portrayed was destroyed and its gardens were parcelled
in small lots. So far, besides these two large oil paintings there is no
knowledge of other drawings or images showing the main house. The press of the
time confirms that, until 1870, the property corresponding to the numbers 15
and 16 of the Ribera de San Cosme still belonged to
Don Anacleto.[14]
12.
The
first painting [Figure 10],
the one corresponding to the Master and his oldest sons, shows the house’s
location on the north side of the driveway, since the church and the hospital
of St. Cosmas and St. Damian can be seen in the background. Pingret
painted several scenes under the unmistakable arches of the La Veronica
aqueduct, which in this painting are unusually high. Surrounded by luxurious
furniture, Don Anacleto and his oldest sons, Santiago
and Luis Gonzaga, are the centre of the composition;
an atmosphere that extends outwards, where a “chinaco”
holds the “master’s” fine horse already saddled. Two paired plain shafted
columns constitute the only reference to the architecture of the house,
although, as expressed by Angelica Velazquez, “the portrait includes the
traditional objects that constituted the symbolic apparatus of court
portraiture: the double column, not by chance behind the father, an indication
of strength and perseverance...”.[15]
13.
The
women of the family, Josefina Eguia Gil de Polidura and her mother, Justa
Gil, are depicted in the portrait that completes the “pendant” [Figure 11]. In the background, the presence of Mount Tepeyac
leads to the assumption that the house’s back terraces and back door faced that
direction, that is, to the north. Despite the exotic presence of a banana palm
tree, there is no greater evidence of the existence of well cultivated gardens;
instead, empty extensive meadows bordered by trees suggest the presence of
irrigation canals. In the middleground appear the two
young heirs, Santiago and Luis Gonzaga, touring and amusing themselves in their
father’s propriety in an English “cabriolet”, unexpectedly drawn by a ram.[16]
Life in the Ribera de San Cosme allowed both the
relishing of urban sophistication and of typical countryside activities such as
horse ridding. Surprisingly, in the painting the Poliduras commissioned from Pingret,
great emphasis is given to making the location recognizable instead of offering
specific details about the villa’s aspect. Enjoying the site was
directly related to the delightful surrounding landscape.[17]
14.
A few
years later, Lorenzo de la Hidalga [Figure 12] began the construction of another suburban villa
in the same region; this one, destined to be inhabited by his wife Ana Maria
Fernanda Icazbalceta and their five children:
Ignacio, Maria Loreto, Maria del Pilar, Federico, and Eusebio.[18]
In one of the earliest photographs of the façade [Figure 13], the main entrance is included in a triumphal arch
guarded by two academic style sculptures, establishing a strong chromatic and
textural contrast with the stone blocks of the walls.[19]
Although the author favoured the expected Greco-Roman
tradition, it was here addressed with greater freedom than in the nearby villa
Buenavista. Flamboyance may be the result of a newcomer lacking noble titles,
of an immigrant who achieved a strong economic position in his adopted homeland
and sought to express it through the scale, construction materials and the
sculptural program chosen for his house. The wide-open gate enables a view of
the whole extension of the garden. Once the dim hallway is transposed, an
arcade full of natural light lavished by the central courtyard opens to the
side. A curtain of old trees belonging to the fields of San Fernando flourishes
in the background.
15.
It was
due to the publication of the Copiador de
cartas y diario particular, by the remarkable
Catalan sculptor Manuel Vilar, in 1979, that it became
possible to suggest that the construction of this villa took place
between 1858 and 1860,[20] during the bloodiest period of the
Mexican struggles between liberals and conservatives. True to his practice,
Lorenzo Hidalga commissioned a work for this villa
to one of the directors of the National School of Fine Arts. As he had done
with Pelegrin Clavé and
Eugenio Landesio, or with the Mexican painters
Joaquin Ramirez and Rafael Flores, he invited Vilar
to see how the construction of the villa was advancing and commissioned
the two sculptures that would later complete the façade: Industry and Art.
Although the Director of Sculpture was focused on the representation of The Saviour, he could not ignore the friendship bestowed by
his compatriot and, between October and December 1859, went to Buenavista on
many occasions to present and correct the preparatory drawings of the
architect. Then he decided to entrust the modelling plaster to his students
Felipe Sojo (Mexico City, July 1869) and Martin
Soriano.[21] Seven months later, Manuel Vilar wrote in his diary,
16.
Note: On July 20th, 1860, I delivered the
statues of Industry and Mechanic Arts I had been commissioned by Mr. Lorenzo de
la Hidalga for his home in San Cosme,
and which were executed by my disciples Sojo and
Soriano, under my direction, at the academy. The cost of these statues,
delivered in plaster, was 700 pesos for both.[22]
17.
With
the addition of the sculptures, the façade acquired a solid triangular
composition; its apex consisted of an assembly formed by cupids, although their
attributes cannot be distinguished and their author remains unknown. Just as
important is the fact that these representations remain just as plaster casts,
which seems to be quite usual in this kind of building of that time, since the Stations
[Figure 14] crowning the
gate of the villa of the Mier family in Tacubaya are also made of that material.[23]
18.
With
50 years of age, Don Lorenzo, the client, continued strengthening his public
image: on one side, Industry,[24] and on the other, Mechanical Arts
— those that rather than intellectual lucubration, require manual execution—,
such as carpentry, masonry, and ironwork. It is surprising that no reference
was made to Architecture as one of the Fine Arts, preferring its technical
aspects. The explanation for this may lie in the prestige already acquired by
Engineering. Besides the implications that these works had for the client, the villa
gained notoriety as an example of iconographic changes in dwellings, from
representations of the Cross of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the archangels and an
extensive Book of Saints, well sheltered in their niches, to the two symbolic
representations of labour, situated in the respective
niches which guarded the gate. This suburban lifestyle started in the
property of the Count del Valle de Orizaba, which was rich in ornamental
sculpture; a century later, another successful inhabitant of the region used
this specific device once again.
19.
The
second photograph of Lorenzo Hidalga’s country house
was published in the catalogue of the exhibition European travellers of the nineteenth century in Mexico, 1996 [Figure
15].[25]
This time the photographer opened the visual field so as to show three of
the large country houses which then delimitated the Tlacopan driveway on the
northern side;[26] all of them showing up-to-date features
which followed the prevailing taste at the time through the use of pilasters,
rustication, friezes and vases that function as upper finish. On the far right,
one can see the villa by the architect Hidalga,
recognizable by its plaster sculptures flanking the main access. An interesting
change in the previously barren Buenavista Square is seen: covered with lawns
and ornamental plants, in the manner of an unusual front garden. In the
property under study, these have disappeared due to the intense traffic of
carriages. The lamps attached to the walls suggest that the capital’s City Hall
of the then Second Mexican Empire extended public lighting up to this place.
20.
The
distance between the street and the entrance, as well as the scale applied
assigned a certain hierarchy to these houses while, at the same time, the
availability of large plots of land led to a redistribution of domestic spaces.
Their suburban character made outbuildings and mezzanines for tenants
unnecessary. In this image, the architect’s intention to integrate the building
to the context can be appreciated; the volume of the hall is located in the
adjacency of the Cortina family’s property,[27]
creating a lateral access with the necessary width to allow the entrance of
carriages and horsemen to the sheds and stables located at the back of the
property, although its height does not exceed that of the neighbouring
building. The body of the reception halls was higher, and had balconies opening
to the exterior. The effect of the entablature is simple and elegant, due to
its proportions and the care taken with the cornice. The Triumphal Arch, which
acted as an entrance to the Hidalga Icazbalceta family’s villa, distinguished it from
all the other ones.
21.
Photographs
enable us to approach an already well-established urban region rather than an
isolated building in the fields which once belonged Fernandine
friars. Supporting this interpretation, the magnificent bird-eye view of Mexico
City signed by Casimiro Castro [Figure 16] is useful in reconstructing the quality of the
surroundings of the Tacuba driveway in the second half of the 19th century,
especially the remarkable development which the back grandes
had achieved in terms of both design and care.
22.
So
far, the best-known view of the house built and inhabited by Lorenzo Hidalga in Buenavista is a small format painting, part of
the collections of the National Bank of Mexico since 1965 [Figura 17].[28] Although it is true that this painting has aroused the
interest of the leading specialists in the country and that it has been
exhibited on numerous occasions, it had not been associated with the two
previous photographs with the intention of getting a better idea about the
building, not only as depicted architecture but also as a demolished urban
landmark. The painting is also signed by Francisco Javier Alvarez de la Torre,
a disciple of the landscape painter Eugenio Landesio
who started painting it as an exercise for the course of outdoor views of
buildings, which endows it with a certain level of veracity. The first version
of this painting was completed in 1861, which confirms that at that time the
house was already inhabited; the sculptures that decorated the rear façade had
already been placed and the garden had been designed. Angelica Velazquez was
first to identify, and rightly so, the model that inspired the Spanish
architect,
23.
In this sense, it can be said that the
Venetian villas of Palladio were those that inspired the design and the
conception of his home, including the important role played by the iconographic
program of the sculptures in connection with agricultural activity, adopted by Hidalga in order to be consistent with his own intellectual
and aesthetic concerns.[29]
24.
I
would add that the context also played an important role in defining the model,
entirely consistent with its function and location, particularly in the house
attributed to Manuel Tolsá. This diachronic
relationship could be confirmed by the fact that Alvarez de la Torre also
painted the back doorway of that other villa, by then seen as paradigm
of good taste, good life, and the luxuries and representativeness of a lineage.
25.
From
what can be seen in the painting, the plant of the house was innovative, not
only for the region but also for Mexico City; the main entrance is laterally
located, thus breaking with the rigid symmetry which should prevail in the
façade. Furthermore, it is housed in a volume which is separate and smaller
than the rest of the building. It highlights the straightforward circulation
from the exterior to the park, even if it could be restricted once the entrance
door was closed. Nevertheless, one’s gaze could wander freely to the limits of
the property.
26.
The
composition of the rear façade is of clear neoclassical inspiration: twin
volumes separated by a central loggia surmounted by an attic decorated
with life-size sculptures. The piano nobile,
where the lodgings of the owners and their guests were situated, is half a
level higher and opens to an arcade leading towards the enclosed garden.
Lorenzo Hidalga’s style is fully expressed not only
on the main façade, but also on the rear one, by the rounded-arch openings, the
type of framing assigned to doors and windows, and continuous mouldings that match with medallions. The architect
continued exploring the qualities of the colossal order and maybe that is why
he designed a vertical axis running from the pillars in the lower level to the
standing out pedestals in the entablature. Besides stating a particular
discourse, vases and effigies accentuate the rhythms of the proposed diastyle
intercolumniation. In the light of this deployment of resources, it is not
surprising that the Ionic and Corinthian orders are followed with an impeccable
correctness. In his painting, Alvarez de la Torre does not omit the striking
chromatic contrast between architecture and sculpture, as depicted in the
photograph.
27.
The
space designed for enjoying the landscape was the loggia, open on one
side in order for the view, the scents and sounds from the garden to be
indulged and wide enough for comfortable seats and a few tables to be disposed
in. Moreover, its decoration did not lack paintings or marble vases frequently
found among the furniture of that time. Depending on the orientation assigned
to the house, ceiling curtains were hanged in order to protect the inhabitants
from solar radiation. Numerous images taken during the 19th century show us the
use different families made of this place: a shelter in which to enjoy a
reflective solitude, a place for confidence; an ephemeral room for sewing or
for children’s games; an improvised dining room for a casual meal; a resting
area for the adjacent room; a waiting area; a hall for receiving close
visitors, a tribune from where the boss made his subordinates feel all his
power; an excellent framework for a group photograph; the best room in which to
indulge in leisure and, above all, a privileged place for the contemplation of
nature.
28.
In
order to continue with the tour of the villa Hidalga
we must once again turn to Alvarez de la Torre. The green areas were divided
into two spaces; an enclosed garden next to the house and a park accessible
from the field doorway or, as in this case, from the entrance hall. The
materials used for the fence separating both areas were brick, artistic
cast-iron and wooden stakes. The architect used the pillars to place more
sculptures and decorative vases by.
29.
The
location of the painter in the property seems to confirm the obvious: the
closed orchard had a more private character than the park. However, some
guests, such as Alvarez de la Torre, had the honor to be invited there, being
able to render to us invaluable testimonies about the lifestyle that prevailed
in those houses. A path of packed sand was destined for walking; on the sides
flourished different plant strata where some trees stood out which, due to
their meagre development, seemed to have been newly planted. In this case it
would not be difficult to suppose that an obsession with design had come to
dictate a careful placement of the living species. The parterres show a
vernacular wink: the rows of bricks that served as protection. The park can be
appreciated from the loggia, and the villa is the most suitable
background for the park, isolating it from the city and giving unity to the
whole property. From the outside, that sensual relationship between man, nature
and architecture was barely perceptible.
30.
Bearing
in mind the harsh conditions in the capital city during the period in which the
two works were completed – the villa and the painting –, the presence of
a fountain equipped with waterworks is another feature of ostentation, since
most of the population suffered from a constant shortage of the vital liquid,
even to meet the most pressing needs. However, the client chose a carved piece
rather than a molten one, a decision highly consistent with the notion of the
whole.
31.
The
scene in the foreground is rather puzzling: a “china”
feeds a pelican, while another one rests on the border of the fountain. The
presence of this local woman could be understood as one of the house’s
servants, as Pingret did with the “chinaco” included in Polidura’s
villa. The pelicans, however, could belong to the flocks that migrated
to the lakes and ponds of the Valley of Mexico from autumn until spring. Their
presence as domesticated species in the park cannot be justified, since they
would not be able to survive. I do not dismiss the artist’s wish to emphasize the
kinds of experiences that were still possible in the border between the city
and the countryside. The mestiza, on the other hand, establishes an interesting
contrast between the prevailing Greco-Roman architectural grammar and her
completely alien clothing. She is a key character, real or imagined, that
allows us to position ourselves in space and time.
32.
It is
a common practice that the architect should explore the client’s lifestyle in
order to identify his needs and, subsequently, his housing project. This
knowledge will be even more accurate when the project is his very own house. By
the mid 19th century, architect Lorenzo Hidalga designed, built and dwelled in a suburban villa
situated at number 1 ½ Buenavista Square. Clearly, Hidalga
also toured the Tlacopan driveway and, thanks to his own prestige as well as
that of his political family’s, the doors of several of these houses opened,
including, of course, the one with the oval courtyard. This statement is
supported by the fact that the project not only sought to maintain a model that
had been shaped over time, but also to improve it through the study and
development of its architectural character. At this point in his life, the
Spanish architect enjoyed luxury and through this house he sought to associate
himself to the group in power. He acquired the habit of keeping an urban house,
a suburban one in order to be in touch with the countryside without losing the
security and comfort typical of the city, as well as several farms. Lorenzo Hidalga continued collecting artworks; he undertook the
design of a personal garden, from which we know about his liking for sand
paths, waterworks and for plants that flourish free of topiary art. With the villa
he sought to enhance and restore the image of a great lord, an entrepreneur
and, in addition, a patron of the arts.
Final
considerations
33.
Were
it not for the presence – however partial – of two of these suburban villas,
the Ribera de San Cosme in Mexico City would be today
practically unrecognizable [Figure 18];
in the new layout, only scarcely scattered trees survive from the large
original gardens; the change in the use of the land and urban speculation
knocked down the architectural unity that characterized the region; informal
commerce has settled on both of its sidewalks and the horizon has been closed
by multi-leveled buildings. The view from the loggias – if they existed
today – would stumble upon adjacent walls and asbestos water depoisit tanks. Few of us still consider the existing
colonies of Tabacalera and Santa Maria de la Ribera
as “privileged places”. The 19th-century aristocracy and bourgeoisie abandoned
their properties many years ago, and their descendants continue to take the
city westwards. Without the landscape, the existence of this type of housing
was meaningless.
34.
The
examples herein reviewed share with the European ones an essential
characteristic: they respond to a specific natural environment with which they
maintain a dialogue and that becomes fundamental for the architectural design
and the subsequent delight of the owners, either as a viewpoint or as a retreat
from an outing. This region’s conformation was not only carefully recorded in
the chronicles of several writers of the time, but also in the drawings spread
and preserved thanks to lithographies; both local and
foreign photographers were interested in it too, and their pictures travelled
through the world as stereoscopic pairs. The French painter Édouard Pingret used the most representative urban landmarks in the
region to insinuate the economic power and social prestige of the Polidura Eguía y Gil family, and
the Mexican artist Francisco Javier Alvarez proposed himself to exalt the
classical content of that architecture and its connection with the garden. All
of these images are an irrefutable evidence of the interest aroused by the villas
bordering the Tlacopan driveway in the section known as the Ribera de San Cosme. They constitute an acknowledgment of healthy living,
modernity and power; of the architectural lab that took place there; and of the
varied interpretations of the classical world made by both guild builders and
Academy architects.
35.
The
title of this article, “With ruins as a guide …”, aims at highlighting the
existing connections between architectural creation and the study of ruins. The
solutions given by three artists to the suburban villas herein presented
allow us to approach the assumptions both clients and architects had drawn from
the past and its building expressions. Moreover, the effort to characterize a
typology that, in the first case, was barely known by the New Spain guilds is
noteworthy. The other two – the villa Buenavista and the villa Hidalga – were designed by artists who had lived in Europe
and that in their American production conveyed experiences, tastes and
architectural references they had certainly visited. The study of ruins
constituted a fundamental part of the architect’s education, and in order to
pursue that, they undertook long journeys to unravel the compositional secrets
of their predecessors. I believe that the virtual reconstruction of these large
houses located between the countryside and the city is an excellent opportunity
to access the imaginaries constituted, in different periods, about the society
that lived in the cities of Classical antiquity.
36.
What
we have covered so far enables me to affirm that the distribution of domestic
space was modified in the course of one century; garden design became
especially important; and a compositional system based on the study of the
architectural orders – Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite – began to be
used. The volumes started to unfold following old orchards and meadows
segmented by canals; external paths had to be planned so they would lead the
owners from geometric-layout gardens to picturesque-style wooded walks or
parks.
37.
The
removal of one or two levels – useful in urban houses – caused the piano nobile’s scale to become even more monumental. The
building tradition kept stone and wood as the main construction materials, but
stone was freed from the mortar used as coating, and beams were hid by ceilings
painted on canvas. The gradual disappearance of the layers of volcanic rock as
a main coating led to the use of other resources, such as rustication, to
provide the outer walls with texture.
38.
Concerning
the reconstruction of the prevailing form of life in this region, it is
important to remember that the villa Los Mascarones
was forever unfinished, the villa Buenavista was not inhabited by its
original owner, and only the third one, the villa Hidalga,
was occupied by one of the most important professionals in the history of
architecture in the country. Based on the herein verified spatial analysis, it
is possible to state that the notion of a one-family house began in suburban villas,
that is, free of tenants occupying mezzanines and accessory dependencies in
urban houses. In Mexico-Tenochtitlan, as in Europe, this manifestation of
private civil architecture was first associated to the nobility and then to an
emerging bourgeoisie eager to gain presence in the urban space.
Bibliographic references
ESCAMILLA GONZÁLEZ,
Francisco Omar et al. 200 años del Palacio de Minería. Su
historia a partir de fuentes documentales. México: Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ingeniería, División de Educación Continua y a
distancia, 2013.
ESCONTRÍA,
Alfredo. Breve estudio de la obra y
personalidad del escultor y arquitecto don Manuel Tolsá. México: Ingeniería y Arquitectura, 1929.
GARCÍA
BARRAGÁN, Elisa. El arquitecto Lorenzo de la Hidalga, In: Anales
del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas. México,
D.F., núm. 80,
2001, pp. 101- 128.
MONTELATICI, Doménico. Villa
Borghese fuori di Porta Pinciana…, Roma:
Francesco Buagni, 1700.
PEVSNER, Nikolaus; FLEMING,
John; HONOUR, Hugh. Diccionario de Arquitectura. Madrid: Alianza
Editorial, 1980.
PINOCELLY, Salvador. Manuel
Tolsá, artífice de México. México: Departamento del Distrito Federal, 1974,
(Colección Metropolitana 49).
PRADO, Ricardo I. La
antigua calzada de Tacuba y la Casa de los Mascarones, Revista del AAPAUNAM.
Academia, Ciencia y Cultura. México, D.F., año 4, núm
2, abril – junio de 2012.
REYES, Aurelio de los.
Captura y reproducción del instante decisivo en el siglo XIX, In: Viajeros
europeos del siglo XIX en México. México: Fomento Cultural Banamex, A.C.,
1996, pp. 224 – 236.
ROJAS, Pedro. La casa
de los mascarones. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, 1985. (CINCUENTA AÑOS 1935 – 1985).
URIBE, Eloísa. Tolsá.
Hombre de la Ilustración. México: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las
Artes, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Museo Nacional de Arte, 1990.
VALDERRAMA NEGRÓN, Ninel
Hipatia. El fomento de la Política de ornato en la República de 1841-1844,
(tesis de la licenciatura). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad
de Filosofía y Letras, Historia, México, 2010.
VELÁZQUEZ GUADARRAMA,
Angélica et al. La Colección de Pintura del Banco Nacional de México.
Catálogo. Siglo XIX. México: Fomento Cultural Banamex, 2004.
VILAR, Manuel. Copiador
de cartas y diario particular. Salvador Moreno, palabras preliminares y
notas. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de
Investigaciones Estéticas, 1979. (Estudios y Fuentes del Arte en México XL).
El Ferrocarril, México, sábado 24 de diciembre de 1870.
______________________________
[1] Translation by Elena O´Neill.
[2] Institute of Aesthetic
Studies, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
[3] As far as these
distinguishing features are concerned, it is appropriate to include a
definition of the object of study: “Villa.
In Roman architecture, a residence in the property of a landowner or farmer; in
Renaissance architecture, this name is applied to a country house; in England
in the 19th century, the mansion of wealthy people, usually located on the
outskirts of the city; in modern architecture, it is a small mansion. The basic
type was gradually configured in parallel to urban development: it consists of
5 spaces on a simple elongated layout with rooms that open onto a central
corridor. The following step consisted in annexing a series of wings to the
building. The villa with courtyard has a square plan, surrounded by a number of
subsidiary buildings, and a wall that encircles the ensemble and whose door
faces the main body of the building.” PEVSNER,
Nikolaus; FLEMING, John; HONOUR, Hugh. Diccionario de Arquitectura. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1980, p.
630.
[4] MONTELATICI, Doménico. Villa Borghese fuori di
Porta Pinciana…, Roma: Francesco Buagni, 1700.
[5] The
façade and the main courtyard of this house are still preserved. Actually, it
belongs to the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and it is located
at 71, Ribera de San Cosme, Colonia Santa María de la Ribera, Delegación
Cuauhtémoc, México, Distrito Federal.
[6] See ROJAS, Pedro. La casa
de los mascarones. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, 1985. (CINCUENTA AÑOS 1935 – 1985).
[7] According to Ricardo I. Prado Núñez, The design of the house
belongs to Mexico City’s Master Builder. In: INIESTA BEJARANO, Idelfonso de. La antigua
calzada de Tacuba y la Casa de los Mascarones, Revista del AAPAUNAM. Academia,
Ciencia y Cultura, Mexico, D.F., año 4, núm 2, April –June, 2012, p. 134.
[8] Regarding the
architecture of Manuel Tolsá in Mexico, the following
four works are fundamental: ENCONTRÍA, Alfredo. Breve
estudio de la obra y personalidad del escultor y arquitecto don Manuel Tolsá.
México: Ingeniería y Arquitectura, 1929; PINONCELLY, Salvador. Manuel Tolsá,
artífice de México. México: Departamento del Distrito Federal, 1974,
(Colección Metropolitana 49); URIBE, Eloísa. Tolsá. Hombre de la
Ilustración. México: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes,
Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Museo Nacional de Arte, 1990; and ESCAMILLA
GONZÁLEZ, Francisco et al. 200 años del Palacio de Minería. Su
historia a partir de fuentes documentales. México: Universidad
Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Ingeniería, División de Educación
Continua y a distancia, 2013.
[9] TOLSÁ, Manuel. Plan que manifiesta las calzadas y paseos que hay por la
parte del poniente de esta capital de México, entre las dos arquerías del
agua…, 1794. Ink on paper. Manuel Orozco y Berra Map
Library, SAGARPA.
[10] Actually the villa Buenavista is the headquarters of the Museo
Nacional de San Carlos, located in the Avenue Puente
de Alvarado núm. 50, Colonia Tabacalera, Delegación Cuauhtémoc, México,
Distrito Federal.
[11] URIBE, Op. cit., p. 82.
[12] Francisco Javier Álvarez de la Torre. Casa de campo de la señora Pérez
Gálvez, 1859, óleo sobre papel, 0.35 x 0.45, Colección del Banco Nacional
de México. In: VELÁZQUEZ GUADARRAMA, Angélica et al. La Colección de
Pintura del Banco Nacional de México. Catálogo. Siglo XIX. México: Fomento
Cultural Banamex, 2004, t. I, pp. 60 – 63.
[13] Édouard Pingret. Portrait of Anacleto
Polidura and his sons, ca. 1852, oil on
canvas, 117 x 90 cm; and Portrait of Josefina Eguía
y Gil de Polidura, ca. 1852,Oil on canvas.
Collection of
the Banco Nacional de México. In: Angélica Velázquez Guadarrama.
Íbid., t. II, pp. 450 – 459.
[14] El Ferrocarril, México, Saturday, December 24th, 1870, p. 4.
[15] VELÁZQUEZ, Op. cit., p. 454.
[16] Ibidem,
p. 456.
[17] The suburban villa
of the Polidura Eguía y Gil
family was located in the large lot today defined by the streets of Ribera de
San Cosme, Enrique Gonzalez Martinez, Amado Nervo and Antonio del Castillo in the Colonia Santa Maria
de la Ribera, Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, Federal District.
[18] Regarding the arquitectural studies on Hidalga’s
work, the two following texts are fundamental: the article by GARCÍA BARRAGÁN,
Elisa. El arquitecto Lorenzo de la Hidalga, In: Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones
Estéticas. México, D.F., núm. 80, 2001, pp. 101- 128; and the bachelor’s degree
final work in History by VALDERRAMA NEGRÓN, Ninel Hipatia. El fomento de la Política de
ornato en la República de
1841-1844. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras,
2010.
[19] Julio
Michaud y Thomas. Casa del
Señor Hidalgo arquitecto,
ca. 1865. Courtesy of Arturo Magdaleno Chapa.
[20] VILAR, Manuel. Copiador de cartas y diario particula.
Introduction and notes by
Salvador Moreno. México: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de
Investigaciones Estéticas, 1979, p. 243. (Estudios y Fuentes del Arte en México
XL).
[21] Guillermo Tovar de Teresa affirms that it
was Sojo who took care of Industry.
In: Repertorio de Artistas en México. México: Grupo Financiero
Bancomer, 1997, t. III, p. 296.
[22] VILAR, Op.cit.,
p. 196.
[23] Acquired by by Antonio Haghenbeck y de La
Lama and placed on his estate in Santa Monica, in Tlalnepantla, State of
Mexico.
[24] Lorenzo Hidalga commissioned Eugenio Landesio
a painting whose theme was the sugar mill of the Columbus farm, also his
property. Eugenio Landesio. Hacienda
de Colón, 1857- 1858, oil on
canvas, 83 x 117 cm. Private
collection.
[25] REYES, Aurelio de los. Captura y reproducción del instante decisivo
en el siglo XIX.
In: Viajeros europeos
del siglo XIX en México. Mexico: Fomento Cultural Banamex, AC, 1996, pp. 224-236.
[26] Aurelio de los Reyes calls it “the unknown
soldier”. Ibidem, p. 232.
[27] The Lorenzo Hidalga villa was located between the houses of the
Cortina family, to the west, and the Sanchez family, to the east. Francisco Galinié. Map of part of the Rancho de San José
Buenavista and of the Potrero San Fernando with the works proposed by the
Railway Company of Veracruz, April 14th, 1866, ink on paper. National
Museum of Mexican Railroads. I thank the architect Irene Perez Renteria for
providing me a digital copy of this document.
[28] Francisco Javier Álvarez de la Torre. Country house
of Mr. Hidalga, ca. 1875. Oil on paper, 35 x 45 cm. In: VELÁZQUEZ, Op. cit., p. 64.
[29] Ibidem, p. 66.