Colonial School. 17th Century.

Colonial School. 17th Century. "The Sacrifice of Hernán Cortés’ soldiers during "La Noche Triste” – The Night of Sorrows" Oil on canvas. 49 x 66 cm. The scene is set in what could be the facade of a palace, given the staircase and pedestal that can be seen. In the centre, a large number of people (mostly soldiers, judging by the weapons they carry) gather around a male character who is seated and bound, naked, with his skin being torn off by two men wearing Phrygian caps, and another character with a crown and sceptre of command. In the foreground, some natural shapes and plants create some space in relation to the viewer. The headdresses and costumes of some characters resemble those of pre-Hispanic America, suggesting that a specific moment within the events of The Night of Sorrows, the sacrifice of the captured Spanish, is being depicted. The Night of Sorrows refers to the defeat suffered by the Castilian soldiers of Hernán Cortés and their allies at the hands of the Aztec army between June 30 and July 1, 1520, on the outskirts of Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. It must have happened after Cortés' entry into Tenochtitlan on November 8, 1519, his reception by Moctezuma II (and other Aztec lords), who ended up being imprisoned, which angered his subjects. After the Massacre in the Main Temple and several battles, the Spanish ended up fleeing on the midnight of June 30, 1520, but they were discovered and attacked. The surviving Spanish captives were sacrificed along with the Tlaxcaltecas who had captured them. According to Bernal Díez del Castillo in his "True History of the Conquest of New Spain," six hundred Christians died, more than half of Cortés' troops. The main Mexica deity associated with the Sun was Huitzilopochtli, also known as Ilhuicatl Xoxouhqui or Tlacauepan Cuexcotzin, and it was believed that he ordered Tenochtitlan to be founded. Among other places, he was worshipped in the Main Temple.