Jo Mora and the Missions of California

Abstract

he missions of Alta California and their churches were depicted repeatedly by generations of artists who traveled to the American West. The first were those who accompanied the now famous voyages of discovery of Jean François de Galaup de la Pérouse in 785-788, Alessandro Malaspina in 79-794, George Vancouver in 79-795, Otto von Kotzebue in 85-88, and Frederick William Beechey in 825-828. The monarchs and nations who sponsored these expeditions were driven largely by geopolitical concerns; France, Russia, and England sought to counter Spain's presence in the region and, at the same time, to take advantage of the lucrative fur trade, while Spain endeavored to solidify its hold on its northwestern-most corner of New Spain. From the artists who accompanied these voyages -Gaspard Duché de Vancy with Pérouse, 2 José . This larger phenomenon will be explored in the author's forthcoming essay, "New Spanish Missions in the American Imagination", to be published in the exhibition catalogue for The Art of the Missions of Northern New Spain. The exhibition, organized by Clara Bargellini of the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the author, will open in March 2008 at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso in Mexico City before traveling to museums in the United States through 2009.2. La Pérouse and his crew were lost at sea in 788, although his journals were sent back to Paris from various ports of call during his voyage. They were published posthumously as Voyage de la Pérouse autour du monde publié conformément au décret du 22 Avril 1791 et rédigé par