Hospicio Cabañas

Hospicio Cabañas
Front facade of Hospicio Cabañas
General information
Location	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Year(s) built	1796-1810
Height	Chapel dome: 32.5 metres (107 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	1
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Manuel Tolsá
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii, iv
Designated	1997 (21st session)
Reference no.	815
Region	Latin America and the Caribbean

The Hospicio Cabañas (Spanish pronunciation: [osˈpisjo kaˈβaŋas]) or Cabañas Museum in Guadalajara, Jalisco was one of the oldest and largest orphanage and hospital complexes in the Americas. Now turned into a museum, the main hall hosts the magnum opus frescoes of muralist painter José Clemente Orozco. The place was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

The complex was founded in 1810 by the Bishop of Guadalajara in order to combine the functions of a workhouse, hospital, orphanage, and almshouse. It owes its name to Juan Ruiz de Cabañas who was appointed to the see of Guadalajara in 1796 and engaged Manuel Tolsá, a renowned architect from Mexico City, to design the structure.

Tolsá's design was based on classic examples such as Les Invalides in Paris and El Escorial near Madrid. The buildings form a rectangle measuring 164 by 145 metres (538 by 476 ft). These are single-storey structures which are 7.5 metres (25 ft) in height. The chapel is twice as high and has a dome rising to 32.5 metres (107 ft). The complex is erected on one level, "so as to facilitate the movement of the sick, the aged, and children."^[1]

Following the death of Cabañas in 1823, construction continued until 1829. Although it served for a time as barracks in the mid-19th century, the hospital lasted well into the 20th century and continued to function until 1980, when the Cabañas Cultural Institute, with affiliated schools for arts and crafts, moved in. The highlight of the interior decoration is a series of monumental frescoes by José Clemente Orozco, including one of his most famed creations, the allegory of The Man of Fire (1936–39).

Hospicio Cabañas was made a Unesco World Heritage site in 1997.^[2] Funded through a collaboration by the Cabañas Institute, Jalisco's cultural ministry and the Hilario Galguera Gallery in 2014, French conceptual artist Daniel Buren created a series of site-specific works in 18 of the 23 courtyards, with cloister columns wrapped in geometric patterns, vaults painted in bright hues and mirrored structures built to create distorted views of familiar surroundings.^[2]

The sculptures La sala de los magos and Los magos universales by Alejandro Colunga are installed outside the building.

• Media related to Hospicio Cabañas in Guadalajara, Mexico at Wikimedia Commons
• Webpage of the institute (in spanish)
• Virtual view on Google Maps