Shadows on stone showcases the design and aesthetic significance of monasteries built in central Mexico at the end of the 16th century. Due to their synthesis of Gothic rib vaults, classic Renaissance facades, Moorish ornamentation, and Indigenous stone masonry techniques, these buildings are “the most dramatic American architectural innovation before the skyscraper,” according to the architectural historian John McAndrew.

This exhibition explores these captivating structures through McAndrew’s photographic archive, part of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at The University of Texas at Austin.

An innovative display will allow visitors not only to experience the churches’ dimensions and their connection to the surrounding landscape through these archival materials, but also to question the dual nature of photography as both a work of art and a document.