Félix Parra Hernández (17 November 1845 – 9 February 1919) was an artist from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During his life, Parra worked as an instructor of ornament drawing at the

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

, located in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. Through his compositions, Parra conveyed themes and narratives that demonstrated the changes in Mexican culture he experienced or observed during his time in the academy and critical world, providing a glimpse into history and shifting society from his perspective. Additionally, his works, particularly his images depicting natives, served as inspiration for later

muralists A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

such as Diego Rivera and

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Sique ...

Biography

Parra was born on 17 November 1845, near Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. From the time of his birth until 1877, Parra bounced around

, attending different artistic institutions beginning in 1861. At the institutions, Parra showed great talent, eventually earning a scholarship for his proven artistic ability in 1877. The following year, Parra traveled across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

to continue his pursuit of artistic studies. For the next four years, Parra studied in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

before returning to

in 1882, at which time he took a position as a professor of ornament drawing at the National School of Fine Arts. He worked solely at the school until 1909, when he took on a secondary position at the National Museum. Here, he focused on his other artistic passions and developed his skills in medias of sketching and

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

. In 1915, he stepped away from his role as a professor at the school, which, by this time, was no longer an institution focused on the pursuit of artistic endeavors. Four years later, on 9 February 1919, Parra passed away in

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...

, a suburb of modern-day

. He was 73 years of age at the time of his passing.

Education and Training

In 1861, at age 16, Parra entered the School of Drawing and Painting at the College of San Nicolás, located in Morelia, Mexico. A pupil in the field of academic painting, Parra attended the college for three years before moving on to the

, located in

, in 1864. Here, Parra was exposed to a synthetic collage of domestic and foreign stylings introduced by a new wave of professors, most of whom were Mexican artists with Spanish artistic education backgrounds. His exposure led to Parra picking up key elements of both the Mexican and European artistic styles, many of which can be seen integrated into his works. While at the academy, Parra presented a number of his works in small internal art shows consisting of pieces created by the academy's students. In 1871, he put on display a nude done very much in the European style. Two years later, in 1873, one of his most notable pieces, ''Galileo Demonstrating the New Astronomical Theories at the University of Padua'', an oil painting done on canvas, was put on display. This work was followed by another oil on canvas work, ''Fray Bartolomé de las Casas'', unveiled in 1875. Finally, in 1877, Parra put on display ''Episodes of Conquest: The Massacre of Cholula'', a work that would significantly impact the coming years of his life. His historic academic painting portraying Cortés and his conquest across

, ravaging native culture in the process, earned Parra a scholarship from the university to travel across the

and to continue his artistic education in

. Beginning in 1878, Parra would spend four years between

and

, learning from and working under other master painters. At the conclusion of his ventures in 1882, Parra decided to return home to his native

and took a position as a professor of

ornamentation An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals that appear to serve on ...

at the National School of Fine Arts.

Career

Upon his return to

in 1882, Parra took a position at the National School of Fine Arts as a professor of

, an art practice based on sketching. Parra continued to use oils after taking the position, creating works such as ''Solos'' in 1898 and ''Still Life with Saucepans'' in 1917. However, because of his new teaching position, the rate at which he produced or publicly unveiled oil-based works was significantly reduced. His role at the artistic institution was his primary focus and sole professional occupation from 1882 until 1909, at which time he began working at the National Museum on top of continuing his duties as a professor. During his time at the museum, Parra began experimenting with another new media:

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

. Few examples of works produced using these mediums have been verified as his, and those that have are not precisely dated. That being said, pieces such as an untitled work depicting a

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

with trees portray his abilities around the turn of the century or shortly thereafter.

End of Career and Death

Parra officially stepped away from his role at the school in 1915, marking an end to his tenure as a professor after 33 years. Despite removing himself from art education, he continued to engage with his artistic endeavors, producing the aforementioned ''Still Life with Saucepans'' in 1917, his final known artwork before his passing in 1919.

Analysis of Notable Work(s)

''Episodes of Conquest: The Massacre of Cholula (1877)''

Parra's 1877 composition, ''Episodes of Conquest: The Massacre of Cholula,'' portrays the victorious Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s, including

Hernán Cortes Hernán is a Spanish masculine given name, originating from Germanic Hernan in the Visigoth culture in Spain. It is the Latinized version of the compound name ''Fard-nanth'', which seems to mean "gentle traveler" or "spiritual traveler". The House ...

, standing over the defeated indigenous people of Cholula. While the light of the piece places emphasis on

Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of N ...

’ figure in the center of the painting, there are other key details that guide the narrative and convey the message of the work. To the left of

lies a deceased native man while a native woman and her child cower to

’ right. Behind

stand other Spaniards who eagerly assess the spoils of their victory. The state of the natives in this work carry multiple levels of significance. First of all, they all appear defeated and afraid, exemplifying the emotional destress of the event being depicted and driving the narrative of this particular painting. More subtly, there are implicit messages conveyed by the positioning of these figures as well. None of the natives appear higher in the work than the

s. This plays with the Spanish belief that they were more “civilized” and thus superior to the natives of the region. Additionally, the bodily position of the deceased native man holds an important meaning. As he lays motionless, his body falls into a position that mimics that of a

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

. This detail ties the work together with the perceived intent of the

conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...

itself, the spread of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

into the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. The final significance of the state of natives depicted in the work by Parra is as an allusion to the future of native culture. As the male dies, it end his bloodline as he is no longer able to father new children. The same holds true for the native culture as a whole. As native people die at the hands of the Spanish invaders, the perceived future of the culture grows shorter as there are fewer individuals to continue native practices.

Exhibitions

* 1873 - ''XVI (16th) Exposición de la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Arte'', hosted by La Escuela Nacional de Bellas Arte. * 1875 - ''XVII (17th) Exposición de la Escuela Nacional de Bellas Arte'', hosted by La Escuela Nacional de Bellas Arte. * 1876 - ''Centennial International Exposition of Philadelphia'', May 10 to November 10, 1876. * 1940 - ''Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art'', hosted by the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, May 15 to September 30, 1940. * 2013-2014 - ''Felix Parra, 1845-1919: A Visionary Amid Centuries'', hosted by

Museo Nacional de Arte The Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) ( en, National Museum of Art) is the Mexico, Mexican national art museum, located in the Centro (Mexico City), historical center of Mexico City. The museum is housed in a neoclassical building at No. 8 Tacuba, C ...

, November 21, 2013 to July 6, 2014.

Works

* ''Galileo Demonstrating the New Astronomical Theories at the University of Padua'', 1873, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Fray Bartolome de las Casas'', 1875, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Episodes of Conquest: The Massacre of Cholula'', 1877, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Solos'', 1898, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Still Life with Saucepans,'' 1917, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Head of Saint John the Baptist,'' Undated, Oil on cardboard.

. * ''Untitled (Architectural Landscape in Grays)'', Undated, Oil on canvas.

. * ''Untitled (Landscape-Trees)'', Undated, Watercolor on paper.

. * ''Untitled (Allegory-Angel Head)'', Undated, Oil on cardboard.

. * ''Untitled (Seated Characters)'', Undated, Oil on cardboard.

Gallery

File:Félix Parra - Galileo Demonstrating the New Astronomical Theories at the University of Padua - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Galileo en la Universidad de Padua Demostrando las Nuevas Teorías Astronómicas'' ("Galileo at the University of Padua Demonstrating the New Astronomical Theories", Oil on Canvas, 1873). Held at the

. File:DelasCasasParraDF.JPG, ''Fray Bartolomé de las Casas,'' Oil on Canvas (1875) exhibited at the Centennial International Exposition of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1876. Held at the

. File:Felix Parra Episodios de la conquista La matanza de Cholula.jpg, ''Episodios de la Conquista: La matanza de Cholula'' ("Episodes of the Conquest f Mexico The Massacre of Cholula", Oil on Canvas, 1877). Held at the

. File:Felix Parra Solos (1898).jpg, ''Solos'' ("Alone", Oil on Canvas, 1898). Held at the

. File:ParraFrescoCabildosDF.JPG, Part of the ceiling

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

painted by Felix Parra in 1893 in the Salon de Cabildos of the Palacio de Ayuntamiento (Old Town Hall) of

Notes and references

External links

*
Félix Parra at the Google Cultural Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parra, Felix Mexican landscape painters Mexican watercolourists 1845 births 1919 deaths Artists from Michoacán People from Morelia 19th-century Mexican painters Mexican male painters 20th-century Mexican painters 19th-century Mexican male artists 19th-century Mexican artists 20th-century Mexican male artists