COLONIAL ART OF THE BAROQUE ERA 81 Codex

COLONIAL ART OF THE BAROQUE ERA

81. Codex Mendoza, Viceroyalty of New Spain, c. 1541– 1542, pigment on paper.

Codex Mendoza • The Viceroy of New Spain commissioned the codex to record information about the Aztec empire. • It was a year to year account of the lords of Tenochtitlan made by indigenous artists. Annotations were made by Spanish priests. • The codex was to be sent the Spanish King Charles V, but it was acquired by pirates and eventually found in France in the 16 th century.

CODEX MENDOZA, CONTINUED • In the center there is diagram of Tenochtitlan with an eagle and cactus growing from the midst of the lake. Hummingbird had told the Aztec’s ancestors to leave ancestral home of Aztlan and look for a place where an eagle stands atop a cactus growing from a rock. They saw this scene in Lake Texcoco and, therefore, built their home on an island in the lake. • Ten men are depicted in the quadrants with name glyphs (ancient symbol) in pre-colonial style. These men led the Aztecs to the island. There is a priest named Tenoch with blood coming from his ear which was offering to deity along with ash on his skin. • Surrounding the image are 51 glyphs. This was the first year of a 52 year cycle. A fire ceremony occurred every 52 years with a complete solar calendar and assured the sun would rise again. Fire was drilled into a victim as sacrifice and then the fire was distributed to all the homes.

90. MASTER OF CALAMARCA, ARCHANGEL WITH GUN, ASIEL TIMOR DEI, BEFORE 1728, OIL ON CANVAS AND GILDING, 160 X 110 CM (MUSEO NACIONAL DE ARTE, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA) *THE MASTER OF CALAMARCA WAS DETERMINED TO B JOSE LOPEZ DE LOS RIOS AND HIS WORKSHOP CREATED A WELL-KNOWN SERIES OF ANGELS WITH HARQUEBUSES.

MASTER OF CALAMARCA, ARCHANGEL WITH GUN, ASIEL TIMOR DEI • These depictions were very popular in the late 17 th century in the viceroyalty of Peru (Spanish administrative region which included most of South America and the capital of Lima). Images first appeared in Peru and then widespread throughout the Andes all the way to Argentina. • Images often included an androgynous, fancily-attired angel carrying a harquebus (a type of gun with long barrel made by the Spanish). • Images were celestial, aristocratic and represented military might. • The Catholic Counter Reformation portrayed the ideology that Church was army and angels were its soldiers. (The Council of Trent 1545 -1563 had decided against depictions of angels except Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, but this was not observed in the Viceroyalty of Pero or Baroque Spain. ) • The dress of the angels incorporate Inca/Andean aristocrat style with European. Also, the Latin inscription on the upper left of the painting uses names of the angels related to the names of planetary and elementary angels of the indigenous religions.

95. Virgin of Guadalupe. 16 th century, oil and possibly tempera on maguey (agave), cactus cloth and cotton, Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City.

VIRGIN OF GUADALUPE • With the colonization of the Americas, the Spanish brought images of the Virgin Mary. • When the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was defeated in 1521 and the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain was created, the Virgin Mary became a very popular subject. • The Virgin of Guadalupe, La Guadalupana, becomes a cult image and is still found today on churches and in homes. . • The images is thought to be an acheiropoieta which is an artwork so divine it could not be made by human hands. The original was thought to have been made by indigenous artist, Marcos Cipac (de Aquino) in the 1550 s. She wears Mary’s traditional colors including a blue cloak with golden stars and roses decorate her dress. A mandorla of light surrounds her and created a crown of stars. • The book of Revelations states she is “clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head”.

94. Screen with a scene of Belgrade on Front, hunting scene on back Circle of González Family, Mexican ca. 1697 -1701 Oil on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl 90 1/2 x 108 5/8 in.

Screen with a scene of Belgrade on Front, hunting scene on back • Biombo enconchado or folding screen is combined with tableros de concha nacar y pintura which is a shell-inlay painting • It was commissioned in Mexico City by the Viceroy of New Spain and was most likely displayed in the palace. • The screen would divide state rooms to create more intimacy. • The work originally had six other panels.

97. Spaniard and Indian Produce a Mestizo, attributed to Juan Rodríguez Juárez. c. 1715, oil on canvas (Breamore House, Hampshire, UK)

SPANIARD AND INDIAN PRODUCE A MESTIZO, ATTRIBUTED TO JUAN RODRÍGUEZ JUÁREZ • The painting depicts a Spanish father and indigenous mother with their son and is part of a series of works that document the ethnic mixing in New Spain between Europeans, indigenous people, Africans and existing mixed-race population. • These are pinturas de castas or caste paintings. • Caste paintings typically depict mother, father and one or more children. • Perhaps modelled upon the Holy Family showing Mary, Joseph and Jesus as a child. • Caste paintings were labelled with numbers and text descriptions as documentation to create a “racial taxonomy”. • Dress and setting help to racially label the people in the painting. • Pure-blooded Spanish are preeminent in the paintings, best dressed and most “civilized”; the paintings stress social status being tied to racial makeup. Indigenous people who lived outside the norms were labelled mecos or barbarian. • An indigenous mother dresses in huipil (traditional indigenous outfit) looks at her husband who is dressed in European-style clothing with a wig. The family is calm and happy to be together. Sometimes these painting show less ideal situations and less comfort and happiness.