Cabildo abierto del 22 de mayo de 1810 ("Open Cabildo of May 22, 1810") is a portrait made by the Chilean artist Pedro Subercaseaux. It shows the artist's interpretation of the Open Cabildo that took place in Buenos Aires on May 22, 1810, in the Buenos Aires Cabildo, and which was a turning point of the May Revolution.
The portrait was painted in Chile in 1908, as requested by Ángel Justiniano Carranza, for the centennial of the May Revolution that would take place in 1810. Subercaseaux mailed the following terms:
...if, as I hope, it is worthy of the matter, I resolve to undertake this work, warning you that if the conduct to the satisfaction, it will be worth fifteen thousand pesos in national currency, with the dimensions of the box four feet wide by three high. [1]
According to current European historicist, Subercaseaux tried to choose a defining moment, recreate the atmosphere and give the magnificence required. He based his lighting and perspective studies on contemporary photos inside the Buenos Aires Cabildo, although it had been remodeled and was no longer similar to the colonial period. The moment depicted is the one when Juan José Paso, who is the one that stands out from the crowd on the left, takes his turn to talk. In the crowd right in front, Mariano Moreno is represented with a grave and worried face.
Currently, the portrait is kept at the National Historical Museum.
The Argentine War of Independence was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown. On 9 July 1816, an assembly met in San Miguel de Tucumán, declaring independence with provisions for a national constitution.
The Plaza de Mayo is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as Plaza de la Victoria and Plaza 25 de Mayo, respectively. The city centre of Buenos Aires, Plaza de Mayo has been the scene of the most momentous events in Argentine history, as well as the largest popular demonstrations in the country. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the May Revolution in 1811, the Pirámide de Mayo was inaugurated in the square's hub, becoming Buenos Aires' first national monument.
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and parts of Brazil. The result was the removal of Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and the establishment of a local government, the Primera Junta, on May 25.
The British invasions of the River Plate were two unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colony of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, located around the Río de la Plata in South America – in present-day Argentina and Uruguay. The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of Napoleonic France. In Argentine historiography, the two successive defeats of the British expeditionary forces are known collectively as the "Reconquista", which is the same term as that used since the 19th century to designate the southward expansion of Christian rule in Spain at the expense of Moorish lands during the Middle Ages.
The Primera Junta or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata, is the most common name given to the first government of what would eventually become Argentina. It was formed on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially only had representatives from Buenos Aires. When it was expanded, as expected, with the addition of representatives from the other cities of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, it became popularly known instead as the Junta Grande or Junta Provisional Gubernativa de Buenos Aires. The Junta operated at El Fuerte, which had been used since 1776 as a residence by the viceroys.
Mariano Moreno was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, and politician. He played a decisive role in the Primera Junta, the first national government of Argentina, created after the May Revolution.
Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez was an Argentine military officer and statesman. He was instrumental in the May Revolution, the first step of Argentina's independence from Spain, and became the first head of state of the autonomous country that would become Argentina when he was appointed president of the Primera Junta.
The Cabildo of Buenos Aires is the public building in Buenos Aires that was used as a seat of the town council during the colonial era and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Today the building is used as a museum.
Juan José Esteban Paso, was an Argentine politician who participated in the events that started the Argentine War of Independence known as May Revolution of 1810.
Antonio Luis Beruti was an Argentine revolutionary who participated in the May Revolution that started the Argentine War of Independence, and later fought in the Argentine civil wars.
Martín de Álzaga was a Spanish merchant and politician during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.
The 1st Infantry Regiment "Los Patricios" is the oldest and one of the most prestigious regiments of the Argentine Army. The title is often shortened to the Patricians' Regiment. Since the 1990s the regiment has been designated as air assault infantry. It is also the custodian of the Buenos Aires Cabildo, the welcoming party for visiting foreign dignitaries to Argentina and the escort, and honor guard battalion for the City Government of Buenos Aires. Since 22 September 2010, the Regiment's headquarters building has been a National Historical Monument following a declaration by the Argentine government on the occasion of the country's bicentennial year.
Feliciano Antonio Chiclana was an Argentine lawyer, soldier, and judge.
Antonio Álvarez Jonte was an Argentine politician. He was born in Madrid in 1784 and moved with parents to Córdoba when young. He studied law at Córdoba University and obtained his doctorate at the Real Universidad de San Felipe in Santiago de Chile. He opened a law practice in Buenos Aires, and lived there at the time of the British invasions. He offered his services as volunteer in the militia but was declined due to poor health.
There are many landmarks in Buenos Aires, Argentina some of which are of considerable historical or artistic interest.
Mariano Moreno en su mesa de trabajo is a portrait by the Chilean artist Pedro Subercaseaux. It shows the artist's interpretation of Mariano Moreno, Secretary of War of the Argentine Primera Junta, the first national government, working at his desk. It is currently regarded as the canonical image of Moreno.
La Reconquista de Buenos Aires is an Argentine historical painting by Charles Fouqueray in 1909. It depicts the victory of Santiago de Liniers against William Carr Beresford during the first of the British invasions of the Río de la Plata, and the subsequent liberation of Buenos Aires from British rule. It was made in the proximity of the Argentina Centennial.
The May Revolution was a week-long series of revolutionary events that took place from May 18 to May 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires. It started the Argentine War of Independence, and it is considered the birth of modern Argentina.
Pedro León Maximiano María Subercaseaux Errázuriz was a Chilean painter, son of the painter and diplomat Ramón Subercaseaux Vicuña. He painted many portraits about events from the history of Chile, such as the Crossing of the Andes. He painted portraits of the history of Argentina requested during the Argentina Centennial. He married Elvira Lyon Otaégui in 1907, but the Pope later annulled their marriage so that they could both get into religious orders.
The independence of Paraguayde facto started on 14 May 1811 after the Revolution of May 14 when a local ruling junta was created. In early 1811 Paraguayan forces had repeatedly defeated the Argentine army which considered Paraguay to be a break-away province. On 12 October 1813 the Paraguayan Republic was proclaimed. Officially, independence was proclaimed only on 25 November 1842. Paraguayan independence was assured only after the Paraguayan War, when the Empire of Brazil resisted Argentine offers to divide and annex the country.