The history of Latin American art is far reaching from the period before colonization up to the present time. As there is only limited space at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, this exhibition will only cover a portion of Latin American art history in gallery 184. The theme of this exhibition will focus on representations of indigenous figures from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century with the title "Latin American Art: The Representations of Indigenous Figures." The exhibition will include art from Mexico, and address how indigenous figures were represented as common Indians, Indians from the Conquest, and as noble Indians. In this essay, I am going to provide the layout of the exhibition, along with curatorial texts and information about …show more content…
This exhibition showcases art from the fifteenth century and early sixteenth century with Lord of Texcoco and the Texas Fragment. These two pieces represent post-Conquest art, and how indigenous figures were represented with European influence. In the seventeenth century, Antonio Rodriguez painted The Portrait of Moctezuma as well. His representation of Moctezuma showcases traditional clothing with European influence of modeling figures. This exhibition also features Miguel Cabrera, who was trained in European techniques and styles in Mexico during the eighteenth century under the patronage of Archbishop of Mexico, Manuel Joseph Rubio y Salinas. The exhibition features various artists from the nineteenth century as well, such as Felix Parra, Leandro Izaguirre, and Juan Cordero from the Royal Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City. Artists in the academy were trained in European styles of Neo-Classical forms to create their historical subjects. The purpose of the academy was to provide an outlet for legitimacy through the visual arts, and to reflect a nation's history. Often times, these paintings were political in nature, and reflected the patrons' wishes. This exhibition will link the representations of indigenous figures that appeared in Latin America through art in Mexico from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century and showcase how art …show more content…
This painting was completed for the four hundredth anniversary of the Conquest and it was exhibited originally in the Mexican pavilion for the World Colombian exhibition in Chicago in 1893. In being showcased to the public, it was meant to have a dark representation of the already dark subject matter of the Conquest. Izaguirre creates a heritage filled with political meaning for Mexico in this historical painting of the Torture of Cuauhtemoc. Below is the specific text for Leandro Izaguirre's Torture of Cuauhtemoc. The main figure in this painting is Cuauhtemoc, who was an heir to the meshika emperor, and he is being tortured by Hernando Cortes. Cuauhtemoc represents the imperial, elite Indian of the past by his portrayal as a noble emperor. The other Indian, meanwhile, represents the current pathetic and barbaric Indian, as his face is scrunched up in pain. This romantic image is enforced further through the power struggle of Cortez and Cuauhtemoc, as they are placed as equals facing each
The legacy and impact of the Spanish conquest is continually discussed and analyzed. The struggle in finding native identities while also acknowledging Spanish heritage is a continuing process in Latin America. Modern film and art, such as Salvador Carrasco’s La Otra Conquista and Diego Rivera’s mural the arrival of Cortés speak about the conquest and its effects on Mexico identity. The film challenges myths about the conquest by arguing against the greatness of Cortés, showing power in native agency, and Spanish dependency on interpreters. The mural upholds myths of the conquest like the black legend, minimizes
Imagine seeing the crucifiction of Christ. Seeing that happen would change everyone’s view of the world. Christ’s crucifiction affected many people, including His mother, Mary. Juan de Juanes, the artist, painted this scene realistically. This painting was made with oil paints on panel with long flowing strokes, which seemed to make it come to life. Juan de Juanes depicts many aspects in this painting such as historical significance, colors, and subject matter.
For decades, the history of Latin America has been shrouded in a cover of Spanish glory and myth that misleads and complicates the views of historians everywhere. Myths such as the relationship between natives and conquistadors, and the individuality of the conquistadors themselves stand as only a few examples of how this history may have become broken and distorted. However, in Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Matthew Restall goes to great lengths to dispel these myths and provide a more accurate history of Latin American, in a readable and enjoyable book.
Every artist's dream is to create something that leaves a lasting impression. The Last Conquistador follows the story of a sculptor who does exactly that. John Houser spent nearly a decade painstakingly crafted a 34-foot tall equestrian statue featuring the infamous Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate y Salazar. Following in the footsteps of his father who assisted in the carving of Mount Rushmore, Houser's fantasy of leaving his mark in one of the largest bronze equestrian statues in the world finally became a reality (Valadez). However, what an artist attempts to express and what message is truly received may not be one and the same. While the Hispanic elite of El Paso praised (and funded) the magnificent piece, the Acoma were horrified by the towering symbol of oppression and genocide looming overhead. This film not only provides a window into the conflict and controversy surrounding Houser's work, but also showcases several aspects of Texas political culture and highlights the dismissive attitude toward Native American culture that is still prevalent today.
The art of Fernando Botero is widely known, revered, paraphrased, imitated and copied, For many, his characteristic rounded, sensuous forms of the human figure, animals, still lifes and landscapes represent the most easily identifiable examples of the modern art of Latin America. For others, he is a cultural hero.To travel with Botero in his native Colombia is to come to realize that he is often seen less as an artist and more as a popular cult figure. In his native Medellín he is mobbed by people wanting to see him, touch him or have him sign his name to whatever substance they happen to be carrying. On the other hand, Botero's work has been discredited by those theorists of modern art whose tastes are dictated more
The artwork fuses on the interest to the abstraction of the Tarascan symbology by painting a pre Columbian totem that emerged from the background of flat planes. The painting which is oil on canvas and forty by thirty carefully blends the colors that show a perfect depiction of the Jean trying to link to his distant past by borrowing designs and ideas from the ancient cultures that existed in Mexico.
Before the 15th century, the Indians in the Americas were not connected with the world and would remain that way until Columbus's exploration. In the beginning of 15th century, the Aztecs were the dominant group in Mesoamerica leaded by Montezuma, the last leader, before the Spanish conquest. In 1519, Hernan Cortez led the Spanish mission to explore and conquer the New World. This paper will compare three primary sources about this event. First, an informing letter sent from Cortez to King Charles V, the king of Spain. Second, the Broken Spears which is an Indian recollection about the conquest of Mexico. Lastly, Bernal Diaz’s (one of Cortez’s men) account was written by him to share his experience with Aztec
There are different approaches used when discussing the survival of indigenous visual cultures. Each essay provided for analysis interprets the conquest of the Americas differently and connects it to Colonial Mexico artistic production at various degrees. Each essay also advocates for its own term that can be used to represent the process of Spanish and Indigenous art forms coming together in a complex cultural context. Kubler advocates for the term, folk art to describe colonial art because it is art production that is devoid of its past meaning. His views on conquest explicitly claim that the Spanish conquest was successful due to Spanish superiority over Indigenous cultures. However problematic his claims are, he is able to dissect the forms used by the Spanish conquest to gain control over artistic production. Mestizo, is the term used by Neumeyer to describe the mixing of two art forms that can only be apparent when Indigenous people reached a high aesthetic culture during the conquest. He also promotes the idea that Colonial art was continuously developing. However, his views of Indigenous art is that it is unable to compete with European modes of art. Finally, Dean and Leibsohn use to the term hybrid as a production and enactment that challenges norms. “Hybridity and Its Discontents” is the most liberal of the three readings. It uses the term hybrid as a way to critique the cultural context in which it was able to be produced; Spanish conquest. It also, critiques
Miguel Leon-Portilla author of Broken Spears- The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico, tells the story of the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs from the Aztec point of view. It is more familiar in history that the Spanish led by Hernan Cortez defeated the Aztecs with a powerful army and established an easy victory all while having intentions to gain power and greed. However, Leon-Portilla focuses on the Aztec Empire and their story. Leon-Portilla does a great job giving readers the real occurrences and events from Aztec members. This paper argues that history must be told from all sides. It is more common to hear about the Spanish conquest
Illustration from Sahagún, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España, c. 1575-1580; ed., tr., James Lockhart, We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest Mexico (Univ. of California Press, 1993)
One of the primary aspects of colonial Spanish life that is depicted in many Casta paintings, and represents signifiant racial tensions at the time, is the depiction of mixed race, or mixed nationality people, who are present, or the subjects of many Casta paintings. Although the Casta system, and the Casta paintings that depict this system encompass a wide and deeply complex racial hierarchy, there are some significant racial distinctions that are prominent in many Casta paintings. Some of the main racial and national distinctions seen in many Casta paintings are, Criollos (Mainly Spanish, or other Europeans who were born in America), Mestizos (A person with one Native American parents and one European parent), Mulatos (A person with one African parent and one European parent), and Negros (African). Although these terms would often be considered to be highly offensive in modern day America, they are culturally relevant, as they were commonly used at the time of the Casta system. This essay will explore the depictions of these four groups of people in Casta paintings, and how these paintings help to illuminate the racial tensions, hierarchies, and cultural changes occurring in Hispanic America during the 17th century.
Because Schreffler is arguing that Díaz, López de Gómara, Solís and González created a misconstrued view of Aztec painting, imagery is a vital component of this essay. The visuals strengthen his argument by giving viewers a clear sense of the difference between typical Aztec panting and the painting that the accounts describe. For example, Schreffler includes two images of paintings done by the
Hispanic art, food, and entertainment all have a common theme; they are all fun, light-hearted, yet fulfilling and rich in cultural heritage. On one side, Mexican culture in particular loves to make fun of itself. There are many depictions in song and art of lazy Mexicans in large sombreros with thick mustaches eating burritos. On the other hand artists like Diego Rivera paint large murals depicting rich historical events like the revolution, in bold colors on controversial topics (This Old, n.d.).
To begin addressing this assignment first I must define what art is throughout the weeks I have been enrolled in “Art and Architecture of Latin America.” To me what I have come to interpret is that art doesn’t necessarily have to involve paper, pencil or paint. Art is something that receives public reaction or that it can relate to someone. For example, take the drawings of Diego Rivera. One of his most famous works named “History of Mexico from the Conquest to the Future” can be found in Fresco, National Palace, Mexico City relates to his people's lives. Why you may ask? Well if you look closely to his drawings it shows the history of Mexico since the conquest of the Spaniards to the revolutions that emerged throughout Spaniard rule up until
Eckhout’s convincingly realistic paintings of indigenous women is important when considering that many dutch artists were infatuated with the idea that Brazil was a sort of paradise. Choosing to forego presence of colonization and heighten the realness of the mamelucos body focusing on the beauty.