Artwork
The Nunnery, Uxmal
The Nunnery, Uxmal is a photography by the Impressionist artist Claude-Joseph-Désiré Charnay. It dates from 1860 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Claude-Joseph-Désiré Charnay’s photograph titled “The Nunnery, Uxbal” was produced in 1860. The image captures the architectural remains of a convent complex at the Maya site of Uxmal, located in the Yucatán Peninsula. The work is part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Subject & Meaning
The photograph documents the stone façades and vaulted interiors of the former nunnery, illustrating the blend of colonial and pre‑colonial architectural elements that characterize Uxmal’s ruins. By framing the structure within its surrounding landscape, Charnay emphasizes the site’s historical layers and its role as a cultural landmark.
History & Provenance
Created during Charnay’s mid‑nineteenth‑century explorations of Mesoamerican sites, the image entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the early twentieth century. It remains an early visual record of Uxmal’s condition before later restoration efforts.
Artist & collection
Artist
Claude-Joseph Désiré Charnay was a French traveller and archaeologist notable both for his explorations of Mexico and Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography to document his discoveries.
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