Two-Dimensional Art from the Colonial Period

Overview

• European aesthetic traditions influenced pre-Hispanic culture in New Spain.
• Resulted in unique art forms that were an assimilation of European, especially Spanish, aesthetics.
• Artists from this era often known by attribution, usually by last name.

Mexican Colonial Painting Influences

• European visual information and printed materials began to arrive.
• Limited exposure to famous Baroque artists.
• Establishment of the first formal art academy at San Carlos towards late 1700s.
• Religious iconography and portraits significant in colonial artworks.
• Church as primary art commissioner.
• Introduction of oil painting revolutionized techniques.

Unique Art Forms

• Costa Paintings and Biombos.
• Materials and Techniques:
  • Fresco
  • Tempera paint for altar paintings
  • Introduction of oil paint

Altar Panels

• Panels could be diptychs, triptychs, or polyptychs.
• Opened or closed based on religious calendar.

Retablos and Jesse Tree

• Unique interpretations of religious themes like the Jesse Tree.
• Retablos: Small faith images.

Historical Images and Manuscripts

• Analyzed an image from 1550 from the Florentine Codex.
• Showed arrival of Spanish, indigenous interactions depicted in circular narratives.

Influence of Religious Practices

• Indigenous ritual paraphernalia destroyed by Franciscans.
• Efforts to convert indigenous populations.

Frescoes and the Casa del Deán

• Frescoes depicted European iconography like centaurs, cherubs, and the Turbantine Sybil.
• Created by indigenous Taquique artisans.

The Jesse Tree

• Adaptations: Transitioned from Western European form to New World context.
• Indigenous interpretations included genealogical trees reflecting heritage and conversion.
• Examples include the family tree of the Unakaze and the feathered Bishop's hat.

Legal Use of Indigenous Documents

• Documents like the royal line of Texcoco accepted in courts.
• Illustrated indigenous heritage and claims.

Evolution of Jesse Tree Depictions

• Later artworks substituted traditional religious figures with the Virgin of Guadalupe.

These notes provide an overview of the key points and cultural exchanges that occurred in Mexican colonial art, which set the foundation for future developments in the region's artistic identity.