IMAGE 34: A Changing Mexican Capital. ‘Biombo, Scene of Mexico City’, 1675-1700, unknown creator. Current Location: Museo Franz Mayer, Mexico City, Mexico. Description: “This folded screen presents a then-and-now view of Mexico City. This oblique view from the east of the city depicts 17th century Mexico City as a peaceful place, with the Viceregal palace at its center. This standing screen was created in Mexico, although the format—of painted panels that could fold or extend into space—was introduced into New Spain from Japan….This view of 17th century Mexico City gives little evidence that the Spanish colonial city stood directly atop Aztec Tenochtitlan. The great Templo Mayor once stood slightly to the west of the site of the Cathedral, the large building directly to the right of the central axis of the biombo. Adjacent to the Cathedral, one can see the façade of the Viceregal place, which, ironically, would be burned by mobs in 1692, angered over the escalating price of maize. The palace, home to the Viceroy, stood on the same site as the palace of Moteuczoma, the last Aztec emperor. The rectangular blocks of the carefully planned city were filled with buildings to the street line. Central courtyards allowed light and air to enter interior rooms. The painter has compressed the view of the city to include the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, seen in the upper left corner. Built adjacent to a former shrine to an Aztec earth goddess, the basilica held a miraculous cloak with the Virgin’s image, revered by indigenous people and Creoles alike. A hallmark of successful government was the ability to supply fresh water to city residents. Dominating the right foreground is the curving line of the aqueduct from the springs at Chapultepec”. Dana Leibsohn and Barbara E. Mundy, Vistas: Visual Culture in Spanish America, 1520-1820, Vistas Gallery. Photo Credit: Museo Franz Mayer.