Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1997.2.3193 |
Object Name |
Photograph |
Description |
Three different reproductions of the ceremony at the Christening of Enriquita Mine in 1860. Father Antonio Goetz celebrated Mass and blessed the mine in the presence of about 200 guests.. Each of the three photos are slightly different. The first is a photo of a framed drawing owned by the Society of California Pioneers. The second which is a water-color version of the same scene doesn't have the ladder (on the left); two individuals are missing on the right; and the box at the lower center is missing. The cutoff on the right is different. The third, an engraved drawing used in Hutching's Magazine, also has some differences. The color photo and the engraved copy are the property of John Drew. The mine was named for Henriquita, the daughter of mine owner, Mr. Laurencel. The mine was named Enriquita, without the "H". The following is a description of the original painting found in the citation below: Almaden Quicksilver County Park - Enrequita Mine (1) Alexander Edouardt (f. 1858-1892) was among the pioneer artists of California who bequeathed a rich visual heritage to historian and art lover alike. Not alone a skillful man with his brush, Edouardt was a printer and photographer as well. His works in all three of those media, amply described in brochures and books, can be found on the walls of numerous art galleries and museums. One of Edouardt's most historically significant paintings, depicting the "Blessing of the Enrequita Mine," can be seen hanging in the San Francisco gallery of the Society of California Pioneers. The handsomely-framed painting delineates the colorful ceremony of blessing a quicksilver mine at New Almaden, an event associated with Hispanic miners about to launch their work in a new shaft. There were a number of such mines in the valley of the Guadalupe Creek, about a dozen miles from San Jose. Mostly dating from Hispanic times, those mines were for many years the largest producers of quicksilver in the country. The name, New Almaden, was derived from their counterparts in Spain. When the Enrequita mine was opened in 1859, Father Anthony Goetz (1812-1870), the Jesuit Pastor of Saint Joseph's Church in nearby San Jose, was invited to offer Holy Mass at the site. Alexander Edouardt, who was present for that occasion, decided to preserve the ceremony in glowing colors that retain their freshness even after a century. The picture of the priest offering the Eucharistic Liturgy in a brush-shelter chapel is full of vigor and movement. In the foreground a small plateau is portrayed, perched like a stage above the canyon. The entranceway to the mine appears to be in the hillside behind the altar. Kneeling before the altar are a group of miners with bare heads. Dominating the center foreground are the mine superintendent and his wife. They are followed by a demure maiden, partially obscured by a parasol. She is very likely their daughter, Enrequita Laurencel, for whom the mine was named. A dog peers intently at some of the men who are preparing a mound of firecrackers that would be exploded at the conclusion of the Mass. No fire1.rms are visible. To the right, some latecomers are making their way up the steep hillside on burros. At the extreme right is a plume of steam arising from the smelting furnaces below. The dominating shades of the canvas are the warm brown of the summer-touched hills and the green of California live oak. The gently rolling hills serve as an excellent backdrop for the stage upon which the whole scene is enacted. Edouardt's portrayal, bathed in sunshine, conveys a feeling of activity, warmth and gaiety. It is California visual history as its very best. (1) Weber, Msgr. Francis J. Encyclopedia of California's Catholic Heritage. (Mission Hills: Saint Francis Historical Society and The Arthur H. Clark Company, 2001) 971. Edouart, Alexander (1818-1892), British;"Blessing of the Enrequita Mine, dedicated 1859, New Almaden, California," 1860, oil painting on canvas; reproduced in The Art of the Gold Rush (University of California Press, 1998). |
Date |
1860 |
Place |
Enriquita Mine |
Cataloged by |
Boudreault, Art |
Collection |
Schneider Collection |