Palaces for a New Spain Nobility: Between Creole Identity and Academicism

Abstract

Mexico City and Havana had a significant number of noble palaces during the eighteenth century. Until now, the dearth of historical documentation on their construction has hampered any approximation, requiring other methodologies. Here, it is intended to establish how a new visual code was defined, consistent both with their local style and international modernity. To this end, a formal analysis has been prepared with statistical tools of both the buildings and the preserved projects, complementing the study with known and unpublished historical documentation. After defining the general context, the analysis of the palace proposals designed by Silvestre Pérez from Madrid for the Count of Buenavista in Havana and for the Marquis del Apartado in Mexico City is addressed. Neither of them were carried out, despite the probable economic viability. This would point to a rejection caused by functional or esthetic issues, which links with the initial analyses. Thus, this study intends not only to offer a more in-depth overview of the phenomenon but also to reach conclusions that can be extrapolated to other periods.