Night of Sorrows: Cortes Goes to His Tree,
acrylic w/ colored pencil, 16 x 20
acrylic w/ colored pencil, 16 x 20
The Art of Paul Borham
| An eerie, almost ghostly quality of Paul Borham's work captures the viewer's eyes at first glance. Then, without conscious thought of doing it, the viewer starts to examine the entire painting, looking for the myriad of details that seem to pervade Borham's work. Night of Sorrows: Cortes Goes to His Tree is no exception. |
Borham explains: Hernan Cortes, accompanied by
fellow Spaniards, arrived at the shores of Mexico in the
summer of 1519. They made their way inland toward the
Anahuac Valley and toward Tenochtitlan, the legendary
island capital of the Mexica Triple Alliance. En route,
they took into their entourage large numbers of
disaffected natives eager to rid themselves of tyrannical
Mexica domination.
Cortes' arrival was tolerated by the co-ruler
Motecuhzoma who, due to an earlier series of perplexing
omens, saw the newcomers as threats to be placated
and contained. Insufficiently wary, Motecuhzoma was
taken hostage by the newcomers and as a result was
scorned and abandoned by his people. Cortes and his
men, surrounded by a hostile populace, attempted to
surreptitiously abandon the city on a dark rainy night in
late June of 1520. They were discovered and in the
ensuing tumultuous retreat and massacre were thought
to have been rendered harmless.
Cortes escaped. Exhausted, with few men and less
hope, in the midst of an alien and unknown land, he
rested beneath an ahuehuete tree on the western
shores of Lake Texcoco and wept.
The tree still stands in modern Mexico City and still lives.
Cortes rallied, marshaled his troops, gathered his allies,
improvised new tactics and, in a brilliant series of
maneuvers, returned to conquer Tenochtitlan and raze
it to the ground. The destruction he wrought was minor,
however compared to the devastation dealt by deadly
diseases brought by the Spanish which within a short
time took the lives of nine of every ten of the native
survivors.
fellow Spaniards, arrived at the shores of Mexico in the
summer of 1519. They made their way inland toward the
Anahuac Valley and toward Tenochtitlan, the legendary
island capital of the Mexica Triple Alliance. En route,
they took into their entourage large numbers of
disaffected natives eager to rid themselves of tyrannical
Mexica domination.
Cortes' arrival was tolerated by the co-ruler
Motecuhzoma who, due to an earlier series of perplexing
omens, saw the newcomers as threats to be placated
and contained. Insufficiently wary, Motecuhzoma was
taken hostage by the newcomers and as a result was
scorned and abandoned by his people. Cortes and his
men, surrounded by a hostile populace, attempted to
surreptitiously abandon the city on a dark rainy night in
late June of 1520. They were discovered and in the
ensuing tumultuous retreat and massacre were thought
to have been rendered harmless.
Cortes escaped. Exhausted, with few men and less
hope, in the midst of an alien and unknown land, he
rested beneath an ahuehuete tree on the western
shores of Lake Texcoco and wept.
The tree still stands in modern Mexico City and still lives.
Cortes rallied, marshaled his troops, gathered his allies,
improvised new tactics and, in a brilliant series of
maneuvers, returned to conquer Tenochtitlan and raze
it to the ground. The destruction he wrought was minor,
however compared to the devastation dealt by deadly
diseases brought by the Spanish which within a short
time took the lives of nine of every ten of the native
survivors.
| This painting was begun by applying acrylic paint to the board using various types of rubber and metal trowels. Using a limited color palette appropriate for a somber night scene, the lighter colors and yellows were rendered first. Darker colors, more carefully limited and controlled, were added next. Details, transitions, and heightened contrasts were added last using colored pencils. A matte spray varnish was used to hold the colored pencil in place before the final varnishing. |
Borham applying thin washes of acrylic paint with a rubber based trowel.
Borham in his workspace picking out details and highlights by hand.