From Maya Courts to a celebrated cubist.

• Author: Shell, Christopher
• Position: !Ojo! - National Gallery of Art

The Art, Culture, and history of Mexico take center stage in Washington, D.C., as the National Gallery of Art presents two important exhibitions as well as all impressive array of Mexican cinema.

With over 130 masterworks, including stone sculptures, masks, and other precious works commissioned by Maya kings and queens, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya demonstrates the visual magnificence from this grand period of Maya art. Building on a history of cooperation with Mexico and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, this exhibition is the first in the United States devoted to the royal courts of the Maya.

In a mere 150 years, A.D. 650-800, the nobility residing in the tropical rain forests of southern Mexico and adjacent Guatemala, Honduras, and Belize achieved unmatched works of art and architecture. The peak and opulence of this era reveal a society of great depth and complexity. Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya is organized around several key themes relevant to the intricate palace cultures of the seventh and eighth century Maya civilization: idealized representations of the divine court and their parallels in reality; the role and status of women in the royal court; interpretations of warfare as experienced by the court; and the political dynamics expressed through works of art. Highlighted is the city of Palenque, considered the greatest example of an ancient Maya court known to this day. The exhibition includes works from the reign of every major Palenque ruler.

Additionally, in collaboration with Mexico City's Museo de Arte Moderno, approximately twenty of the finest works of Diego Rivera's cubist period will be on display at the National Gallery of Art. The Cubist Paintings of Diego Rivera: Memory, Politics, Place explores Rivera's approach to synthetic cubism--a less understood aspect of his career. This selection of paintings explores Rivera's accomplishments in France and Spain in the years 1914-15. Created in a time that not only coincided with World War I, but also the most active period of the Mexican Revolution, these works illuminate the artist's deep interpretation of themes of identity and place.

Rivera experimented...