Depictions of the Ephemeral: the Design and Floor Plan of the Triumphal Arch for the Reception of Bishop Gutierre Bernardo de Quirós to the Diocese of Puebla-Tlaxcala (1627)

Abstract

Bishop Gutierre Bernardo de Quirós entered Puebla de los Angeles, today Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, October the 13th, 1627 to take possession of the episcopal chair. Following the routine welcome and procession through the city’s streets, he reached the cathedral where, before its main façade, a seat of honor was provided for him to listen to an eloquent poetic dialogue to honor and welcome the newcomer by two players, who would have explained the triumphal arch that framed the Puerta del Perdón. This arch had been carefully designed and executed in preparation for the event, and the original drawing is preserved in the cathedral’s archive. With the drawing as its formal reference, the article deals with both the model and its artistic context and offers an interpretation of the figures represented. It thus aims to reincorporate one of the few graphic exemplars of this particular type of work, a traditional feature in viceregal times that continued into Independent Mexico, to art historical studies.