An in-depth study of a particular topic in the history of art. It may be an examination of a specific artist, group or movement or an exploration of a particular theme or issue in art.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities | Varies according to topic offered | 1/4 - 1/2 - 1 course |
This course will present the visual cultures of the Spanish colonies (Viceroyalties) in the Americas between roughly 1500 and 1800 via methods and texts from different disciplines. We will consider a wide range of artworks from the expansive territories of Mexico, Peru, and beyond, discussing key images and their histories thematically. The main themes for the course will be: influences, materiality, and circulation. These themes reflect the nature of the visual cultures we will study in this course, and will also allow us to delve into other relevant issues such as race, gender, and religion as they are so often reflected in the main artworks we discuss.
Because this is a class about visual cultures of colonial societies, we will go beyond painting and sculpture. Our class will also include discussions of textiles, architecture, altarpieces, and ephemera. In this course, students will not only learn about colonial visual histories, but will also gain an understanding of important trends in the fields of art history, colonial theory, and anthropology. Our readings reflect the diversity of this approach to the study of complex colonial visual cultures.
From the early days of Spanish colonialism in the Americas, the Virgin Mary emerged as a divine figure who resonated strongly in the New World. Her appeal as a mother was relatable on an emotional and spiritual level in the newly conquered territories, and her likeness was quickly exploited by colonizers as they violently converted indigenous populations. In Mexico, her image appeared on the cloak of Juan Diego and inspired the widespread worship of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and in the Andes, the imagery of Mary became associated with indigenous mother deities including Pachamama. In both viceroyalties, an almost immeasurable number of devotional artworks depicting the Virgin Mary in different forms, races, and environments began to emerge in the sixteenth century. These holy images appeared on a variety of objects, including sculptures, paintings, prints, and textiles.
New-World images of the Virgin Mary can be viewed as a natural bridge linking religions and aesthetic sensibilities during the early modern period. While Mary as a holy figure originated from "western" belief systems, her new visual forms arose in large part from indigenous practices and religious objects. Her chameleonic image encapsulates the fabric of colonial Christianity--borne of religious strife, while allowing modification in its local variations. Indeed, early modern images of the Virgin Mary are fundamentally derived from cultures of violence and transformation. In this course, we will look closely at images of the Virgin Mary from the Spanish Viceroyalties of Mexico and Peru, and we will use a variety of media to carefully assess the historical and historiographic methodologies employed by scholars to analyze these artworks. We will also use Marian artworks as a window through which to explore broader issues in the Viceroyalties, including those related to religion, gender, cultural hybridity, and colonial genres of painting. Students will gain essential research skills and an understanding of early modern Latin American art and historiography.