Miguel Cabrera (1695-1786)

H.J. Heinz, Pittsburgh
Father Charles Sovak, Pittsburgh (gift from the above circa 1921-1932)
Benedictine Sisters of Pittsburgh, North Canal Street Monastery and Ross Township Monastery (gift from the above circa 1932-1938)

El Nacimiento de la Virgen: This canvas, like the others in this series, has been lined using glue as an adhesive. The lining is quite effective and can remain in place. The paint layer is stable and has been fairly recently varnished. The general impression is that the picture is in very good condition. There appear to be no retouches and so it seems more than likely that the picture was recently lightly cleaned and varnished without any retouches being applied. There is a considerable amount of dirt in the less prominent passages but the faces and the figures seem to generally be comfortably cleaned and I am not unimpressed by the condition of the picture currently. The painting could be cleaned further so that each painting in this series of paintings hangs in a cohesive fashion. La llegada a Belén: This canvas, like the others, is also lined. The painting is generally in similar condition as the rest of the paintings in this group, except that some diagonal scratches in the upper portion of the picture and in the upper left were recently made and there are some retouches which have been applied to lessen the impact of these scratches. Elsewhere there is possibly some slight instability in the lower right but the only way to properly resolve this would be to change the lining, which at this point does not appear to be necessary. There is some blanching in the lower right which may require some attention and there are some paint losses in one of the feet of the figure of Joseph on the far right. La adoración de los Reyes Magos: This canvas, like the others in this series, has been lined with glue. The painting is slightly brighter than some of the others in this series. It is roughly cleaned to the same comfortable level yet as with the others, there is some further cleaning which could be carried out, but in this case cleaning would not be recommended. La huida a Egipto: This canvas is lined with glue as an adhesive and is in roughly similar condition as the others in the series. There are some restorations in the landscape to the right of Mary and the Child, and there is some dullness and weakness in the dark background. The figures and the donkey are well preserved. La Presentacion en el Templo: This canvas, like the others in this series of painting, is lined with glue as an adhesive. The varnish is slightly dull. The paint layer is dirty yet to a degree not un-like the other pictures. A light cleaning may bring this painting more to the level of the others in this group. There are some restorations to this work which are not as apparent in the other pictures, particularly on the right side in the numbered tablets in the upper right and in the kneeling figure of the young man on the right. There are also other isolated paint losses here and there. Whether some of the older restorations, which are in Joseph's knee on the far left, are removed is an issue worth considering. There are similar ill-applied restorations in Mary's gown and in some other areas in the lower portion of the picture. If these restorations were to be removed, the overall condition of the picture would be noticeably removed. La muerte de San José: This canvas, like the others in this series, has been lined with glue. The paint layer is quite dull and has not been varnished recently. There is a scratch near the Madonna's mouth and a couple of other small spots, in addition to some thinness. Pentecostes: Like the others, this canvas has been lined with glue. The painting is in similar condition in many ways to the remainder of this series of paintings. However, there is an overall thinness to the paint layer in the upper quarter of the picture above the figures and in many of the softer colors in the figures and beneath the figures. The faces, hands and lighter colors are all well preserved. The main issues is that there is a significant area of restoration in the lower right quadrant from the back of the kneeling figure in the lower right all the way to the right edge. It is likely that there is a group of losses or some thinness here which was thought to be more than the usual. The heads of the two figures furthest to the right are quite damaged and presumably this similar kind of damage extends through the remainder of the that area. The rest of the picture is in lovely condition. La Asuncion de la Vigen: This canvas, like the others in this series, is lined with glue. The paint layer is in healthy condition for the most part. The upper right quadrant has been recently been reotouched.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Series of images of the lives of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Christ were ubiquitous in Latin American viceregal art, as in Counter-Reformation Catholic imagery generally from the mid-1500s into the nineteenth century.  In addition to serving as illustrations of scenes from the Bible and the Catholic Apocrypha, the individual scenes could serve as icons for specific devotions focused on events such as the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Holy Family, Presentation, Assumption, and so forth.  (In North America, the practice of naming Catholic High Schools after these events gives evidence of the power of the tradition.)  Throughout his prolific career, Cabrera painted numerous series; some of the extant groups have up to fifteen images. One may therefore assume that the present series originally had more images, such as the Marriage of the Virgin, the Annunciation, and possibly her Presentation to the Temple, her Dormition, and so forth.

The eight scenes offered here date from the end of Cabrera's career, and interestingly, repeat very few motifs from other known images of these subjects in Cabrera's oeuvre, demonstrating his remarkable creativity and invention.  For example, the scene of the Birth of the Virgin varies considerably from the same image in the series of fourteen monumental scenes from the lives of Christ and the Virgin, painted by Cabrera ca. 1751-60 for the sacristy of the Church of Santa Prisca in Taxco, Mexico.  The number of figures, the ages of each, the position of St. Joachim (standing in the present series, seated in Taxco), and the increased emphasis given to St. Anne in the present example, all indicate an artist actively creating new ways of depicting the ancient stories.  (Cf.  G. Tovar de Teresa, Miguel Cabrera, México 1995, pp. 144-161.)

In style, the present series may be compared to three pictures painted by Cabrera in 1767 for the Church of El Carmen in Querétaro, Mexico, depicting the Virgin of the Carmelites and visions of St. Theresa of Ávila and St. John of the Cross.  One may particularly note the similar facial features of the Virgin and the treatment of the young angels in both series. (Cf. G. Tovar de Teresa, Miguel Cabrera, México 1995, pp. 200-202.)

The provenance of the eight scenes is typical of many Mexican viceregal works in United States collections. Upper-class North Americans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries often visited Mexico, buying works of art that, until the Mexican Revolution period of 1910-20, were readily available.  The closing of the Mexican monasteries in the 1860s had released many works of religious art into private hands, and by the end of the century, these were being sold by private owners. For example, the Charles Ficke and Margaret Barber Mexican colonial painting collections, at the Figge Museum of Art in Davenport, Iowa, and the Emily DeForest (New York) and Philadephia Museum collections of Mexican ceramics, were all assembled at this time.  Similarly, Henry J. Heinz visited Mexico ca. 1900, and is documented as having bought works of art there.  For example, his obituary in the Pittsburgh Dispatch, 15 May 1919, gives the following information:

"Few places in Europe that were worth seeing escaped him, and he made extensive tours in Egypt, Palestine, Mexico, Bermuda and West Indies, in all of which countries and in all of his visits he enriched his remarkable collection."

(http://www.carnegielibrary.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n109.html )