Mexico City 3 - Bellas Artes
On Palm Sunday last spring we went to Bellas Artes to see the Mexican Folkloric Ballet, a powerful and beautiful spectacle, and then stayed in the building for a few hours. The interior hall of the Bellas Artes is one of the most beautiful interior public space ever, and being an architect I pay attention. It was begun in 1904 but construction stopped during the Revolution. It was finished in 1932-34. So the exterior is mostly Neo Classical, with strong Art Nouveau touches, while the interior Art Nouveau and Deco. Inside the soaring interior atrium are found important murals by Rivera, Seiqueiros, Tamanyo, and others. The mural that Rivera made at the Rockefeller Center (which was destroyed because it prominently portrayed Lenin and commented on the evils of capitalism as opposed to the virtues of Marxist socialism) was reprised by Rivera here. Come check it out!
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The exterior (not my photo!)
The National Folkloric Ballet of Mexico
The beautiful skylight in the performance theater
The stage 'curtain' is a stained glass foldable panel created out of nearly a million pieces of ireidescent colored glass by Tiffany's. It's the only one of its type anywhere and weighs 24 tons.
Art Deco Detailing
The soaring atrium - you can see one of the murals at the end of the balcony'
A Diego Rivera mural - Carnaval de la vida Mexicana
Another view of the Atrium
The incredible decorative columns supporting the 4 balcony levels. Marble surrounding inset art deco lighting and capped by monumental metal work inspired by the Mayan deity Chaac. Check out the brass railing. Below left is part of the powerful mural 'Nueva democracia' by David Siqueiros, 1944.
Curved structural concrete rafters flowing into the skylight. Guau!
And Guau again.
1 Answer
No he visto este edifcio magnífico cuando estaba en México jeremias en el año pasado, ¿pero quizás en mi siguiente viaje a México?
