Chapter 18: Art of New Spain: Spanish Colonies in the Americas

Latin America

Spanish and Portuguese explorers conquered enormous swaths of territory in what is now known as ____.

Mestizo

someone of mixed European and Native American descent

Manila Galleon

Allowed commerce vessels to complete the four-month trek without interruption.

New World

The Spanish introduced the \_____ to Roman Catholicism, a faith rich in imagery. Religious benefactors funded a staggering number of high-quality religious works.

Cusco, Peru

This became the first European art center in the Americas.

Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza

* Viceroyalty of New Spain (c. 1541–1542)
* The main scene depicts the founding of Tenochtitlán
* Named after Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain.
* The book uses glyphs created by Aztec artists that were later annotated in Spanish.

Angel with Arquebus (Asiel Timor Dei)

* By Master of Calamarca (La Paz School)
* The angel is depicted with an arquebus (a form of rifle) instead of a traditional sword.
* one in a series of angel drummers, buglers, standard bearers, and holders of swords.
* The Master of Calamarca may have been José López de los Ríos

Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and a hunting scene

* Circle of the González family (1697–1701)
* Only known example of an artwork that combines biombos and enconchados.
* Commissioned by José Sarmiento de Valladares
* Displayed in Viceregal Palace in Mexico City.

Screen with the Siege of Belgrade (Hunting Scene)

* suited to an intimate space for small receptions.
* based on tapestry designs for the Medici
* the design is derived from prints exported from Europe

Screen with the Siege of Belgrade (War Scene)

* more suited for a grander room of political importance.
* depicts the contemporary event of the Great Turkish War
* illustrates a scene of Hapsburg power.

Biombos

folding freestanding screens

Enconchados

shell-inlay paintings; tiny fragments of mother-of-pearl placed onto a wooden support and canvas and covered with a yellowish tint and thin glazes of paint

Virgin of Guadalupe

* By Miguel González (1698)
* Based on original Virgin of Guadalupe
* The painting describes an event in which Mary appeared to Native Americans on Tepeyac
* Revelations 12:1

Tepeyac

a shrine sacred to a pre-Columbian goddess.

Spaniard and Indian Produce a Mestizo

* Attributed to Juan Rodríguez Juárez (c. 1715)
* Spanish colonists commissioned these works to be sent abroad to show the caste system of the New World.
* Panel from the first known series of casta paintings

Casta paintings

paintings from New Spain showing people of mixed races

Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

* By Miguel Cabrera (1750)
* Painting was done for her admirers 55 years after Sor Juana Inés’s death.
* Portrayed seated in her library surrounded by symbols of her faith and her learning.
* \

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

* She was a criollo woman who became a nun in 1669.
* a literary figure who wrote books that were widely read; she also wrote poetry and theatrical pieces, and maintained a great library.