Cordero, Juan (1822–1884)
Cordero, Juan (1822–1884)
Juan Cordero (b. 10 June 1822; d. 28 May 1884), Mexican painter. After having attended the Academia de San Carlos during what was probably its most difficult period, Cordero went in 1844 to Rome, where he came into contact with the Nazarenes (a group of German artists who sought to revitalize Christian art) and executed religious and historical canvases as well as portraits. On his return to Mexico in 1853, Cordero was disappointed at not being named director of painting at the Academia de San Carlos, a post then occupied by Pelegrín Clavé. Nevertheless, he produced numerous fine portraits and received important commissions. Contrasts in lighting characterize a good number of his works, and a realistic bent informs even his most idealized portraits. Cordero painted the vaults and dome of the Church of Santa Teresa and the dome of the Church of San Fernando. An allegorical mural for the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, known only through a copy, has been considered an antecedent of twentieth-century muralism by nationalist historians.
See alsoArt: The Nineteenth Century .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Elisa García Barragán, El pintor Juan Cordero (1984).
Clara Bargellini