Centuries old works now surrounded with gold

STANDARD TIMES
By Andrew Atterbury
PHOTOS BY Michelle Gaitan/Standard-Times Newly framed paintings by Cristóbal de Villalpando are displayed at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts. The paintings are part of the Mexican Baroque Masterpiece exhibit on display until April 5.
TEXAS---Centuries ago, Cristóbal de Villalpando's paintings depicting scenes from the life of St. Francis hung in the Franciscan monastery cloister, tucked into a valley of green hills in Antigua, Guatemala. The monastery commissioned 49 colossal pieces in 1695 and in the years since, time has taken its toll on the collection. Today 17 of the works remain, three of which survive in the United States. The San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts acquired two of them in 2010, but not until December were they available to public eyes as part of the Mexican Baroque Masterpieces gallery. Even still, they weren't yet witnessed in their full splendor. [link]

Detail of "Last Supper"