/Wt//Mffisto{itol Rcriew

VOLUME 54 IULY 198e NUMBER 3

Don Diego de Vargas: Portrait of aSeventeenth-Century Conquistador

I. MANUEL ESPTNOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, IR.

Three individuals may be considered today as a great triumvirate insouthwestern colonial history: don Francisco Ylzquez de Coronado(1510-15il); don |uan de Oflate (1il9-1625); and don Dego de Vargashpata Luiiin Ponce de Le6n $A\-VM). Coronado led a large expe-dition that traversed much of the American Southwest in 1540-ls4z,exploring as far east as Kansas, in search of cities of wealth and exoticpeoples. Although he found no riches, the expedition helped give theSpaniards a fairly accurate concept of the area that would become theAmerican Southwest. onate is known as the colonieer of New Mexicoafter he established the first spanish colony in the Southwest in 1598near the Pueblo Indian village of San Juan on the Rio del Norte or RioGrande.

f . Manuel Espinosa began his research on don Diego de Vargas in 1931 as a graduatestudent of Herbert E. Bolton at the University of California, Berkeley, where he obtainedhis doctorate in 1934. He is the author of two books on Vargas: First Exrydition of Vargasinto Neut Mexico, 1692 ll94or, and Crusders of the Rio Grande, The story of Don Diego deVargas and the Reconquest and R$ounding ol Nrrt Mexico (1912). He is also author o( SpanisltFolktalq from Nao Meriu {793n, and Tfte Folklore of Spain in the American fuuthavst (1985},and has written artides on New Mexico history for various iournals.

W. Charles Bennett is Curator of Collections and Assistant Director for the Palaceof the Governors (history department of the Museum of New Mexico), Santa Fe. ASraduate of the University of New Mexico, where he earned a master's degree in historytn IW6, he has published numerous articles on soqthwestern material culture.

305

NEW MEXICO }{IST'OI{ICAI- I{EVIf]W IULY I9ti9

Full-length painting of don Diego de Vargas that hangs in thechapel of San Isidro, Madrid, Spain. Photo courtesy of J. Man-uel Espinosa.

I. MANUEL ESPINOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, JR. 307

Diego de Vargas, the third of the triumvirate, led the reconquestof New Mexico and reestablished Spanish rule in the last decade ofthe seventeenth century. The reconquest followed the Pueblo Revoltof 1'680, when all Spanish inhabitants of New Mexico were forced towithdraw to El Paso del Rio del Norte (present Ciudad Ju6rez). Indeed,with the Pueblo Revolt the northern frontier of New Spain was pushedback more than three hundred miles. For twelrre yeats the PuebloIndians held New Mexico as their own and destroyed much of theSpanish culture that had surrounded them. Between (he years L6gzand L696, Vargas changed all that.

vargas, a Castilian nobleman, had assumed the office of royalgovernor and captain general of New Mexico in El Paso early in 1691.After assuming the duties of office, he made plans to reconquer NewMexico. In summer 1592 he marched north with a small irmy andfound the previously hostile Pueblo Indians of the upper Rio Grandein a conciliatory mood. Refurning the next year, however, Vargas metwith resistance and was forced to fight pitched battles at Santa Fe,provincial capital of New Mexico, and elsewhere. Between 1694 and1695, the Spaniards waged almost continuous warfare with the rebel-Iious Pueblo Indians, but peace was eventually achieved and the per-manence of European occupation of the region assured. Since the daysof Governor Vargas this distant corner of the old Spanish empire inAmerica, now a part of the United States, has continued to be a com-munity in which Spanish blood, culture, and tradition have contributedto the region's uniquely Hispanic character. In light of these devel-opments Vargas stands out as a significant figure in the history ofEuropeal conquest and colonization in North America.

Unfortunately, no contemporary portraits or pictorial represen-tations of Coronado or Onate have been found. Slightly more than fiftyyears ago, however, in 1934, American historians for the first timebecame aware of the existence of the only known contemporary paint-ing of vargas, a full-length oil painting that presently hangs in the SanIsidro Labrador Chapel in the residence of descendants of tnu Houseof vargas in Madrid, spain. J. Manuel Espinosa, senior author of thisarticle, had the good fortune to be the first American to learn of theexistence of this original late seventeenth-century painting. He sub-sequently published a photograph of the painting in black-and-whitewith a description on the front page of the Fiesta edition of the SantaFe Ne?, Mexican, on September l, lg}4.l

1. Ios€ Perez Balsera Lopez de ZArate Bocos y Ramirez de Haro, Laudentus airos

308 NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW JULY 198e

Il spring 1985, Espinosa obtained a color photograph of the orig-inal Vargas painting through Ram6n Bela of tire Ins-tituto de CulturaHispdnica (lnstitute of Hispanic culture) in Madrid. Bela, with thepermission of t-he Vargas descendants, arranged to have ttre paintingphotographed by the portilo studio in Malrid. The photograph iil?rg! enough to enable the viewer to observe every aetait. Now, forthe first time, Americans who have not had the oiportunity to visitMadrid and see th-e original painting of the Ieadei or tn. reconquestand refounding of New Mexico for Spain in the last decade of theseventeenth century, have at hand a color photograph of the originalportrait.2

Espinosa learned of the existence of the painting in early 1934 asa result of discussing his res.earch on Diego'de Varlas with visitingSpanish scholar Angel Gonzillez Palencia.

"Gonziilez palencia told Es-pinosa that a friend of his, Jos6 P6rez Balsera, a descendant of theHouse of Vargas in Madrid, had recently written a history of his familyancestry, which he believed might well be the same family of whicirDiego de Vargas was a member. Gonziilez Palencia wrote to Balsera toobtain a coPy of the work, and within three weeks Espinosa receivedthree complimentary copies of the privatery printed book. The bookwas indeed about the ancestors of Diego de-Virgas. Espinosa retainedone coPy and sent the others to the Palace of the Governors (historydepartment of the Museum of New Mexico) in santa Fe, and to Zim_mernan Library in the universiw of New Mexico.

Balsera's book contains a mine of information on the House ofVargas, includin g pho tographic reproductions and extensive referencest9 specific Spanish archival sources and other material. As an unan-ticipated boon, the book contained among its illustrations a large pho-tograph, in black-and-white, of the portrait of Diego de vargas.3 Theoriginal vargas_painting, executed by an unknown irtist, hanlgs in theChapel of San Isidro Labrador in the Balsera family residence at CallePretil de santisteban, Madrid, and measures approximately sixty-fourby forty-two inches. Espinosa described the pirysical chiracteristicsand dress of Diego d9 Vargas as he appears in the painting in the santaFe Nau Mexican article and elsewtreie.o

glorioxs et parentes nostros in generatione sua (Madrid: Tipografia catolica, de AlbertoFontana, 1931).2' This.color photograph was donated bv f. Manuel Espinosa to the palace of theGovernors (history department of the Museum of New Mexico in santa Fe), where it ison file.

l' fot genealogical information on vargas, see Pdrez Balsera, Laudemusairos glorio*s.4' See J' Manuel Espinosa, trans., Fi-rst Expedition of vargas into Nnp Mextco, 1692

I. MANUEL ESPINOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, JR. 309

vargas was baptized on November g, l&3,and departed forAmer-ica in summer 16z?. If the portrait was painted in Madrid prior toVargls departure for the Niw worrd, he would have been approxi-mately twenty-nine years old when he posed for it. Espinosa includedphotographs in black-and-white of the briginar vargas painting, takenfrom the photograph in Barsera's book, ii ,",nuruior his later publi-cations; subsequently, it has been reproduced by several authors inworks relating to New Mexico history.s

At the end of his article on the vargas painting in the santa FeNats Mexican, Espinosa wrote: "It is .r,y ui*"rt hope"that in due timea movement will be inaugurated to have a copy of this remarkablevargas portrait, in the form of a painting or statue, set up in a per-manent and fitting place in santa Fe. This would be a suiiabre mon_ument to don

?1"_g_" de Vargas, santa Fe's favorite hero." This hope

was realized in lgs7, when a special copy of the original painting wasmade by the mojel spanish painter, furio Barrera, and sent as a giftto the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe from the Instituto de CulturaHispiinica in Madrid.5 This copy of the portrait has been on display

(Albuquerque: University of New M_exico press, lg4}l,30; and J. Manuel Espinosa,Crusders of the Rio Grand,elThe story of Don.D-iego divargas and the Reconqunt and Refoundingof Nat; Mexico (Chicago: Instirute Lf ;esuit Hiitory, ti4f2y,30. Diego de Vargas, pruefu deIegitimidad, recorded in Madrid on June 21, 1672', and based on the information of wit-nesses who knew him, described him as "a young man of medium stature, straight haiaand a broad face, who lisps somewhat and caniot pronounce some words.,, see JohnL' Kessell, "Dego de Vaqgas: Another Look," Nru Mexico Historical Rniau,d0 (January1985),16,27, n.16.Based on his knowledge that Balserl a.nd his family moved to segovia for safetyduring the spanish civit war, and that Balsera'r prop"'rty was looted by anti-Francosupporters during the siege of Madrid, Espinosa believed in 194o that the v"rg", paintinghad been lost' He learned later, however, that the painting had remained intact in thefamil1 chapel in Madrid. see Espinosa, Firsf Expediiion os vorgor,25, n. g.5. Espinosa, Crusders, fronlispiece,2g, 29; J. Manuel Eslinosa, ,,Governor

Vargasin colorado," Neut Mexico Historicai Rnin:,1r (April 1936), r7g-79; Espinosa, First E-r-ydition of vargas, frontispiece; Aurelio M. Espinosa, Espana en Nue,j.o Mijico(Boston: Allynand Bacon,'lgln, frontispiece; paul Hoqgan, The Centuries of Santa Fe (New york: E. p.Dutton & Co', 1965), 68; Kessel, 'Anoth-er Look," 14; Iohn L. Kesseu, Kiaa, Crox, andcroam: The Pecos lndians and Nant Mexico 15{.-lg401Gshrngton, D.c.: National ftrkService, 1979),242.6' A small photograph in color of th9 museum copy of the portrait is shown on thecover of this issue,of EI Palacio (september4ctober i6si,2T6', andcolor postcard re-productions are sold at the museum. valeriano salas, director of the illustrated Rasista

.G,*s::fy Espanola published in Madrid, helped effect,ii, porouit copv. In l94g he visitedthe united states as a Suest of the Depaitment of staie to photograph examples ofspanish art and architecture in the Borderlands. At the time Espinosa was an odicer ofthe Division of Cultural Relations, u.s. Departmen, oi-sr",", where he helped salasarrange his itinerary and appointments. As i result of his visit to the museum at santa

310 NEW MEXTCO HTSTORTCAL REVTEW IULY 1989

for a number of years in a prominent place in the Palace of the Gov-ernors (once Vargas' seat of government) in an exhibition of historicNew Mexican personages.

More recently the Palace of the Governors acquired a second mod-ern copy of the Vargas painting, the work of a well-known copyist ofthe Prado Museum in Madrid, Graciano Garcfa Carrillo. This copy wasexecuted on heavier canvas, superior to that used by Julio Barrera inpainting the first copy. The two paintings are known as Palace of theGovernors, Museum of New Mexico, catalog number 3737145 (first orBarrera copy) and catalog number 10048/45 (second or Garcfa CarrillocoPy). The second copy of the painting was the gift of Manuel CabreraKabana, a Spanish mining engineer with mining interests in the UnitedStates, and a member of one of the various well-known Spanish familiesof Madrid that claim lineage to the House of Vargas. Cabrera Kabanaarranged to have the painting made, framed, and shipped as a gift tothe Palace of the Governors through the Instituto de Cultura Hispiinica.Unfortunately, this second copy of the painting is not a faithful copyof the original. Instead of the coat of anns found on the original paint-ing, this copy has in its place an altered copy of a later version of theVargas coat of arrns, one which we refer to as the Twitchell versionafter New Medco historian Ralph E. Twitchell, who used this morerecent version of the Vargas coat of arrns in his work, The SpanishArchiaes of Nal Mexico.T

Ih January 1959, architect fohn Gaw Meem and his wife, Faith,visited the Balsera family residence and San Isidro Labrador Chapel inMadrid and saw the original Vargas painting, In summer 1980, Kristie

',.Sivert, also from New Mexico, made a similhr visit. Both Meem andSivert wrote articles about their visits.E Espinosa also visited the Balsera

Fe, and subsequent correspondence conducted by its director, Boaz Long, with theInstitute of Hispanic Culture and the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C., the copywas painted, at the request of Ramon Bela. Formal presentation of the Vargas portraitcoPy was made to the museum by the Spanish ambassador to the United States in SantaFe in June 1959. See "Portrait of Vargas Information," History Collections Office, Palaceof the Govemors, Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.

7. Ralph E. Twitchell, The Spanish Archiaa of Na;.r Mexico (2 vols., Cedar Rapids,lowa: Torch Press, l9l4), l:64.

8. Iohn G. Meem, "Vargas Lore: An Interview in Madrid, rgsg,' EI paracio,66 (oc-tober 1959), 159-6t; Kristie Sivert, "Don Dego de Vaqgas Descendant Sends Greetings,"Santa Fe Nal Mexican, September 7, 19ffi, pp. 1-2. These articles deal mostly with theirconversations with Balsera's daughters, Maria Teresa and Maria Luisa. Sivert's articleincludes a brief report on the visit to Santa Fe in 1960 by the Balsera sisters as guestsof the community to participate in the 250th anniversary of the Fiesta de Sanfa Fe, cele.brated annually since 1712 to honor Vargas' reconquest of New Mexico.

I. MANUEL ESPINOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, IR.

residence and San Isidro Chapel to examine the painting in 1959 andsecured photographs of the exterior of the residence, the interior ofthe chapel, and the Vargas painting. In the chapel, Espinosa examinedthe various details in the painting and took notes. More recently otherAmericans have visited Madrid and examined the original Vargaspainting, including the co-author of this article, Charles Bennett, inr9u.

The residence of los6 P6rez Balsera, at Calle Pretil de Santisteban,No. 3, is within short walking distance from Madrid's historic PlazAMayor, built during the reign of King Philip III in the seventeenthcentury, and hub of much of Madrid's social life in that era. The loton which the Balsera residence was built is a small part of a once largeestate owned by the House of Vargas since the t*elfth century.t Thepresent building, erected in 1855, now in a row of apartments, is athree-story stone edifice with long rows of windo*s u short distanceup the street from the corner of Almendro Street.

In constmcting the building careful plans were made to build achapel on the site of the stable where San Isidro Labrador (Saint Isidorthe Tiller of the soil), the patron saint of Madrid, kept his oxen. Thisis on the property of Ivan (or Juan) de Vargas, a wealthy landownerof Madrid in the twelfth century and an ancestor of Diego de vargas.San Isidro Labrador and his wife, Santa Marfa de la iabeza, wereservants of Ivan de vargas, who worked in the fields on the vargasproperty. It is believed that on Ivan de Vargas'property between thebridges of Segovia and Toledo, in present downtown Madrid, whereSan Isidro tilled the land, the saint performed the miracle of the spring,causfg a spring of water to gush forittr where he stmck the groundwith his ox goad. The spring is said to edst there to this d"y.to

The chapel originally had two street entrances, the one on CallePretil de santisteban and one on Calle Almendro, which was the prin-cipal entrance. In 1859, the owner, don Ignacio Jos6 L6pez de z6trate,Marqu€s de Villanueva de la sagra y de la Nava de Barcinas, obtained

9. The best history of the Vaqgas family is Balsera's work. Summaries largellr basedon it may be found in Espinosa , First Expedition of Vargas, 19-24; and Espino sa,-Cruflders,T-28- Additional documents on Vargas have been dlscovered in the private archives ofseveral other descendants who reside in Madrid. See Kessell, "Another Look,,,ll-2g.

10. San Isidro labrador is venerated in folk tradition in New Mexico as well as inlP"h and other Spanish-speaking countries as an intercessor for rain. In former yearshis image was taken in procession to bless spring plantings and to call on him in timesof drought. Figures of thesaint in popular atiitt Spiin andlhe Hispanic world, includingNew Mexico, show him kneeling in prayer, with angels driving his oxen while he iipraying.

311

/-

312 NEW MEXICO HTSTOzuCAL REVTEW IULY leSe

authority from the Church to permit mass to be celebrated in the chapeland for services to be open to the public. Since then it has been visitedfrequently by devotees of San Isidro Labrador, especially on his feastday, including recent Catholic monaichs of Spain.tt

The Chapel of San Isidro Labrador on Calle Pretil de Santistebanmay be entered through a doorway to the left of the hallway insidethe entry to the building. The chapel itself is modest in size, aboutthirfy feet wide and fifty feet long, with walls constructed of stoneblocks. Behind the altar there is a large crucifix, with stafues of SanIsidro Labrador and his wife on either side. Under the altar ihe mangersof the original stable are still in place. On the side wall to the left ofthe altar, looking from it, hangs the portrait of Diego de vargas. oneither side of the Vargas painting hang nineteenth-century paintingsof scenes from the life of San Isidro. The one on the righi sirows thekneeling figure of San Isidro with angels watching over his labors; thepainting on the left depicts the saint standing and Ivan de Vargaskneeling before the miraculous spring. The chapel also contains anoriginal full-length painting of |uan Antonio Lopez de Zilrate y Alvarezde Medina, first Marques de Villanueva de la Sagra (rokb-169g), ofapproximately the same size as that of Vargas, which may have beenpainted by the same unknown painter of the Vargas portrait. JuanAntonio L6pez de Zarate was the older brother of Ignacio Lopez dezarate and married Diego de Vargas' daughter, Isabel Mana.

In- an examination of the original vargas painting, there are, inaddition to the central figure of Vargas, three other parts of the originalpainting that merit close study: the coat of arms in the upper rightcorner (to Vargas'right); the legend in the lower left corner; ald thesomewhat obscure battle scene along the upper left side of the painting.The Vargas coat of arms is a shield divided into quarter sectirons. Thetop right quarter consists of three horizontal waw bands of blue on asilvery white background and represent the Vargas family heraldry.The blue waves represent the miracle of the spring performed by SanIsidro Labrador.r2 Balsera quotes the following verses on the Vurgut

11. Balsera, Laudemus oiros gloriosos, 113-15. The mortal remains of Madrid's patronsaint are kept next to those of his wife, Santa Marfa de la Cabeza, in the Cathedral ofSan Isidro in Madrid, a large baroque structure faithfully reconstructed atter it bumedin 1936.

12. Balsera, Laudemus airos glorions, gZ, ll4; data provided through correspondenceby the spanish authority with the author on spanish heraldrv l,tarqires de Ciadoncha,of the Archivo Herdldico de los Senores de Rdjula Cronistas il,"y"r de Armas de S. M.,Madrid, Spain. Earlier versions of the Vargas family coat of arms included only thisheraldic emblem.

/-

I' MANUEL ESpINosA and w. CHARLES BENNETT, tR.

f;#y from don Luis d,e zapata's book Reino de Toredo (Kingdom of

los.Vargas gentes nobles y enforzadasDe los que oigo mil cosas y no dudoSon unas nobles Bandas ondeadasDe azul y blanco a lo ancho en el Escudo.De Las hazafias de estos senaladasSu loor en Sevilla no esta mudo;Su loor en muchas partes y en Sevilla,Pero es su antiguo origen de Castilla.

tu Y"rgases a people noble and braveof whom I heai a tirousand marvero,r, things and do not doubt1Ig l"presented by noble wa\ry bandsOf blue and white across the family .i.st.Of the heroic deeds which ttrese als[;;}"ir praise in Seville is not silenU

v

fh"T praise ir il *3ly places as well as in Seville,But their ancient origin is Castile.13

The bottom left quarter of the coat of arrns shows five gord shoeson a field of red, bordered by eight sma, shierds of red, each with adiagonal black band, arso on a fierd of red. The shoes represent theheraldry of the zapata Lujiin family. Th" t";ata and Vargas familiesare two of the ordest and most famous nobre families of Madrid. TheuPPer left quarter consists of three horizontal viridian bands on a silverbackground, each with the edges broken on either side giving theappearance of sections of an embattrement. we have not yetieen abreto ascertain the specilic heraldic meaning of this quarter section of theVargas coat of arms.ra

313

The fourth quarter of the coat of arms, on the bottom right, isdivided into two parts. on the left is a lion rampant on a field of silver;on the right side are four verticar red .oi, *.u.,", on a field of gord.This quarter b P::g".red by eight smat gotJ shierds each wirh a brueband across it' solid documentltio., on th"e specific meaning of the two

3i li:"'ig:::T l":::.:i: f 1?I :,""u1, u.!r " r t may u. tfr

" i.rard r yof the Ponce de Le6n fam'y, crosely relateJ r" il,"'u"r*ff;;13

13. Balsera, Iaudemus viros gloriosos, 93.14' Iosd Antonio dvarez /Buur,", Hiios de Madrid, ilustres en sntidad, dignidades,

:ffi ":::'fi ;J^il'ii"!t, :|t"fj;i:. c""n."' s"'nl,'iu, ts73), i, ;;;s"e; core-

314 NEW MEXICO HISTORICAL REVIEW IULY 1e89

Coat of Arms of Diego de Vargas

Vargas crest as reproduced from the original portrait of don Diego de Vargas.

Version of the Vargas crest as reproduced by Ralph E. Twitchell.

I. MANUEL ESPINOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, IR. 315

many centuries.. The many intermarriages among members of the Var_g.as, zapata, Lujiin, and ponce de Le6i, and other noble families hadtheir alliances

lhlo"gn marriages represented in their heraldry. Thus,descendants of the House of varg"i n"a different last names such asvargas Ponce de L_e61, zapataponce de Le6n, vargas y Lujiin, Lujany vargas, zapata de Le6n, Vargas Zapata y Lujiin, ind'so on.tt

on the original vargas painting, extending in red from the foursides of the coat of arrns, are the four ends of the cmciform insigniaof the order of santiago, whichis shaped like a dagger. As worn bythe members of the ilrustrious spanisir Military order, the pointedblade of the dagger is slightly longer than the visible ends extendingfrom the coat of arms make it appeir. Scores of Vargas'direct ancestorsand dose relatives through -u''iuge were knighted members and proudlywore. the insignia of the royal Oiaer, incluling thirteen in the seven-teenth cenfury alone.t6

Placement of the quarter sections of the Vargas coat of anns in theoriginal painting and design of the gold .ro*., above it, as well asother details, differ from those showri in the black-and-white copy ofthe coat of arms reproduced by Ralph E. Twitchell. Twitchell,s is anold but more recent version of the coat of anns. This is evident by thefact that the crown above the coat of arms in the latter version is that:tu_d

by a marqyi? and vargas received the title of Marquis de la Navade Barcinas in 1699, some twenty-five years after the date of the originalpainting. AIso, the insignia of the oider of santiago is absent.rT

- Along-the upper side of the original painti.g, opposite the sidedepicting the vargas coat of arms, th"re-is wha"f "ii""r, to be anopening in the room in which Varg3s stands, pe.hapi a doorway orlvrndow, vaguely showing an outdobr battle scene with soldiers, mil-itary weapons, and a cannon and cannon balls in the foreground. In

15. Corespol*1:" with Marqu€s de Ciadoncha; Balsera, Laudemus uiros gloriosos,28,29,35, 43, 4547, 49.15- Seegenealogicalchartof theVargasfamily, Balsera, Laudemusuirosglorio*s,l3s.

There is no documentary evidence that iargas *", "

member of the ordeiof santiago,Kessell, 'Another Look,,, ZO, Zg, n. 32.17. Twitchell, S,panislt Archiaes of Nru Mexico,l: 54; Ralph E. Twitchell, OId Santa Fe:The Story of Natt M:tr:o'? Ancient Capital (Santa Fe: Santa-Fe Nau Mexican publishing

Company, lgr), 58- Irving A. Leonard, trans., The Mercurio Volante of Don Carlos delts:::y v Gdngora: An_Accaint of the First Expedition of Don Diego de vargas'into Nau Mexicoin.1592 (LosAngeles: Q111soctety,1932),42; Espino r^, crul*dns, frintispiece; Kessell,Kiva' Cross, and Croutn, 242. whereibouts of the origir,"i version of the coat of arms firstpublished by Twitchell in 1914 is unknown. From t*he visible small section of a circularstamp on the lowercorner of the original Twitchell copy, it appears that it was obtainedfrom a heraldic archive ot *,-rr".rrriin Spain. See Julio de'Atienza , Nobiliaio Espanot(Madrid: Aguilaa l9S9),20; Espinos a, Crusders, 3lg, 33g.

316 NEW MEXTCO HISTORTCAL REVIEW IULY 1989

the background, a distant murky sky covers a larger area. The precisesignificance of this scene is unknown. It is probably an evocation ofthe military exploits of members of the Vargas family, so many of whomdistinguished themselves as soldiers in defense of the Spanish crown.rE

In the lower left corner of the painting, below the battle scene,there is a legend with a decorative gold border that was clearly, onclose examination, superimposed on the original painting after Vargas'death n l7M. It reads:

El Senor D" Diego de BargasZapata Lujan Ponce de Leon Marquesde la Naba de Barcinas del Orden de S'tiago Covernador, Con-qistador, Pacificidor, y Capitan General del Nuebo Mejico, perdiola Vida en Canpafia Rasa por libertar los Vassos Sagrados en elSitio de Bernalillo ano de MDCCIV.

His Lordship Diego de Varga s Zapata Lujan Ponce de Leon, Mar-ques of la Nava de Barcinas, of the Order of Santiago, governor,conqueror, pacificator, and captain general of New Medco, wholost his life in open battle attempting to rescue the sacred vesselsat the place of Bernalillo, the year MDCCIV.'e

Whether Vargas was a member of the Order of Santiago has notbeen substantiated. Moreover, ample documentation shows that hesuffered a grave illness while campaigning against hostile Indians aboutfourteen leagues from the community of Bernalillo and that he wastaken to Bernalillo where he died on April 8, 1704. A firsthand reportdescribing in detail Vargas'last days is contained in a letter from JuanPAez Hurtado to Ignacio Lopez de Zilrate in Madrid, April 20, t7M.The report was uncovered recently by john L. Kessell in the personal

18. Examples include: the roles of the three Vargas brothers in the conquest of Toledoin 1080 and Madrid in 1083 during the reconquest of Spain from the Moors; a memberof the Vargas family who fought bravely in the famous battle of Nava de Tolosa in l2I2;and the famed Garci Pdrez de Vargas, who distinguished himself in military victories atCordoba inl?35, Ja€n in 1245, and Seville in 12,18, in the reconquest of Andalucfa. Therewere others of military renown, including Francisco de Vargas, who with his courageouswife, Marfa de Lago, were the victorious leaders in the detense of the Alcazar of Madridat the time of the uprising of the Comunidades, or Communities, in Castile in the reignof Emperor Charles V. King Philip ll inherited from his father, Charles V the well-knownCasa de Campo in Madrid, which Charles V had purchased from Francisco de Vargas.When one of the king's principal counselors asked him why he did not remove theVargas coat of arrns, the king is said to have replied: "Leave them, for those of suchloyal vassals look well on the home of the royal monarchs." Balsera, Ltudemus atrosgloriosos, 113, 11.5.

19. "Report of the Royal Fiscal, Mexico Gty," August l, lZ04,legajo 142, ArchivoGeneral de Indias, Guadalajara, discussed in Espinosa, Crusaders,3s8-59, n. 25.

l-

I. MANUEL ESPINOSA and W. CHARLES BENNETT, IR.

archives of the present Marqu€s de la Nava de Barcinas in Madrid.Translated below is an excerpt from the letter:

Following the trail of the enemy with a group of soldiers and somefriendly Indians, and having travelled with the said camp aboutforty leagues from this town [Santa Fel, he suffered a grave acci-dent of fevers, caused by chills in his stomach, and seeing that hewas very weak the reverend father preacher Friar Juan de Gar-aycoechea, chaplain of said field expedition, urged him to returnbecause he saw him so listless. And he answered the said fatherthat there was no better place to lose his life than in the serviceof God and our lord the King. Nevertheless, since the accidentwas so grave, by force of pleading and urging he was returned onthe shoulders of Indians to the town of Bernalillo, about sixteenleagues from this town, where I awaited him with some medicinesto cure him, but these had no effect as there was no way that theycould provide a remedy. He arrived as I say on the fifth of thepresent month, where . . on the eighth day of the present month,at about five in the afternoon, he gave up his soul to his Crea-tor. . . .20

The significance of the Vargas painting is two-fold. First, it is theonly known portrait of the leadhg figure in Spain's reconquest of NewMexico following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Second, our best evidenceindicates that the portrait was painted during Vargas'lifetime and thusprovides a-contemporary likeness. Meanwhile, the residents of SantaFe continue to keep alive the memory of Vargas and his exploits withtheir annual Fiesta de Santa Fe, celebrated first in 1712 to honor Vargasand the reconquest.

20. Juan Piiez Hurtado to Ignacio L6pez deZArate, April20, 170{. From a photocopyof a typewritten copy of the letter made available to Espinosa through the courtesy ofJohn L. Kessell. The full text of this letter, in Spanish and English translation, appearsin Iohn L. Kessell, Rick Hendricks, Meredith D. Dodge, t *y D. Miller, and EleanorB. Adams, eds., Rernote Beyond Compare: Iztters of don Diego de Vargas to His Family t'romNru Spain and Nans Merico, 1675-1705 (Albuquer,que: University of New Mexico Press,1e89).

317

ffMo//$ffin/ Rcrta*