The Brooklyn Museum recently acquired a rare piece of art from Peru dating back to the late eighteenth century. The piece entitled, ‘A Merry Company Along the Banks of the Rimac River’, was purchased on June 21, 2012 by the Museum’s Board of Trustees. It will be the highlight of a new exhibit at the museum entitled, Behind Closed Doors: Power and Privilege in the Spanish American Home, 1492-1898.
The painting is attributed to the viceroyalty of Peru and was formerly in a collection of a Peruvain count according to Art Daily.
In the painting, a multi racial group of Spaniards, Africans, mestizos as well as Native Americans are shown dancing and drinking on a country estate along the banks of the Rimac River. During this time, Spanish Americans were some of the world’s wealthiest people and this scene depicts their private life and luxury in colonial Latin America.
The exhibit, organized by Richard Aste, Curator of European Art at the Brooklyn Museum, will be on display beginning on September 20, 2013 through January 12, 2014. The exhibit will then travel to three other museums in the United States according to Art Daily.
