Cortez the Killer (Original)

Artist: Jack Keay
Medium: Gouache on Board
Size: 18" x 16" (460mm x 395mm)
Date: 1975
Code: KeayConquistadorLL

This is the unique original Gouache painting by Jack Keay.

The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs in 1521, led by Hernando Cortes, was a landmark victory for the European settlers. Following the Spanish arrival in Mexico, a huge battle erupted between the army of Cortes and the Aztec people under the rule of Montezuma.

The Spaniards landed on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico in 1519, where they found the advanced society of the Aztecs. The Aztec Empire stretched along the Valley of Mexico, and Tenochititlan was its capital. The Aztecs had substantial wealth from trading and heavy payments of tribute from conquered peoples.

From 1200-1520 the Aztecs flourished and expanded their empire greatly. By the time Hernando Cortes landed in Mexico with his 600 soldiers, the Aztecs were in control of most of present-day Mexico. The expansion of the Aztecs, however, ended with the Spanish Conquest.

• Artist Biography
  Jack "John" Edwin Keay (10 May 1907 - 1999; King's Norton, UK)
  Artist who contributed a variety of illustrations and covers to Look and Learn. When he signed his work, it was usually as “Jack Keay”. Jack Keay was born in King's Norton, Worcestershire, on 10 May 1907. Little is known about Keay's career, but he was a popular book cover artist who worked for Pan, Panther, Hutchinson, Fontana and Four Square in the 1957-62 period.
  
  Keay illustrated a number of books in the 1970s and 1980s, including The Change of Life by Muriel E. Landau (1971), Gunfighters of the Wild West by Eric Inglefield (1978), American Civil War by Philip Clark (1988), American War of Independence by Philip Clark (1988) and Viking Explorers by Rupert Matthews (1989). He died in Hounslow, London, in 1999, aged 92.
  
  Jack Keay is not to be mistaken for John R. Keay (qv) who also contributed to Look and Learn.