San Antonio Collects: Theodore Gentilz and Mission Life of San Antonio and Northern Mexico

Theodore Gentilz studied in Paris as a painter and surveyor before coming to Texas in 1844 with Henri Castro, the impresario who lured Alsatian settlers to the state with the promise of abundant land and natural resources. Gentilz quickly abandoned Castro and Castroville to settle in San Antonio, where he became the first art teacher at St. Mary’s University.

Entranced by the already ruined but beautifully evocative Spanish missions around San Antonio, Gentilz dedicated himself to capturing images of the missions and the daily life of the citizens of Texas and northern Mexico. Focused around five important paintings that Gentilz left to St. Mary’s University, the exhibition explores the missions, landscape, and daily life of San Antonio prior to 1900.