Cristina Bergoglio (born 1967) is an Argentine artist, writer, and architect, and the niece of

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

. Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Bergoglio studied at the Taller de Pintura de María Finochietti in Argentina from 1983 to 1986, and received her ''Titulación Superior'' (higher qualifications) in urban architecture from the

National University of Córdoba The National University of Córdoba ( es, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba,) is an institution of higher education in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of t ...

in 1996. Her first exhibitions were in the late 1980s. In 1997, she moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, where she attended the Taller de Pintura Emma Gans in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, and the Taller del Prado academy in

, later becoming a teacher at that institution, until 2007. Her paintings tend to portray large metropolises such as

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and

, and she usually works with

acrylic Acrylic may refer to: Chemicals and materials * Acrylic acid, the simplest acrylic compound * Acrylate polymer, a group of polymers (plastics) noted for transparency and elasticity * Acrylic resin, a group of related thermoplastic or thermosett ...

and

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

techniques. In June, 2014, her works were displayed in an exhibit at the Conrad Hotel in the

Brickell Brickell ( ) is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida located directly east of Interstate 95, south of the historic CBD, and north of Coconut Grove. Brickell is known as the financial district in Miami, as well as South Florida. Brickell was found ...

neighborhood of

. In 2017, she was one of twenty artists with works featured in a charitable exhibit and auction at the

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (in Spanish, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (), named after its founder), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Prado Museum on one of the city's main boulevards. I ...

, and in 2018, her works were shown at the Doorway Gallery in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Her showing in Dublin, including paintings of the city that she had prepared for the occasion, coincided with a visit to Ireland by Pope Francis, though the gallery exhibition was planned a year before the Pope's visit was announced. In 2019, Bergoglio was the subject of a documentary short, ''Escribir con el pincel'' (''Write with the brush'') screened at the

Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain The Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain ( es, Academia de las Artes y las Ciencias Cinematográficas de España, links=no) is a professional organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of Spanish cinema. Founded in 198 ...

. In 2020, she was one of eleven artists to be included in an exhibition titled "Once de 10" at Espacio 36 in

Zamora, Spain Zamora () is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital of the province of Zamora. The city straddles the Duero river. With its 24 characteristic Romanesque style churches of the ...

. As of 2020, Bergoglio resides in Spain. In her personal life, she has described herself as

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...

, and has stated, "I'm not afraid to say I see the church as outdated, and that's why I believe life has put my uncle to renew this certain system of thought that was getting stagnated". In one interview, she indicated that she has only met Pope Francis once, where she "gifted him with a painting of the city of Assisi in Italy", and that she had not sought to meet him again out of "respect orhis job as a spiritual messenger", and due to her own busy schedule. In addition to painting and teaching, she has written pieces for several magazines, and published several books, ''Vivir Renaciendo'' (''Live Reborn'')., ''The 20 Freedoms of Being'', ''Entrar en lo Extraordinario en tiempos del corona'' (Go into the extraordinary in times of the coronavirus), and ''y Que la ciudad sea contigo'' (May the city be with you).

References

External links

*
Biography at Taller del PradoArtistic License: Cristina Bergoglio
''The Gloss''
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergoglio, Cristina 1967 births Argentine artists Argentine painters Argentine writers Argentine architects People from Córdoba, Argentina National University of Córdoba alumni Living people