Week 6

Question 1

Biombo

Answer 1

Asian-Inspired folding screen painting. Modeled after Japanese byobu. (Between 1565-1815). Initially made as gifts to Spanish Elites. The first painting was taken by the 4 Japanese Ambassadors (young boys) to King Philip II of Spain and the other to Pope Gregory XIII.

Question 2

Anonymous, View of the Viceroy’s Palace in Mexico City, 1660 Mexico, 8-panel folding screen, oil on canvas

Answer 2

This is an example of Biombo art. Made out of several pieces of paper pasted together. They were pasted on a wooden framework. They pasted it on both sides. Japanese artists would use materials like vegetables/ink. In some cases they would use gold) gold leaf on this painting). These would make it easier for elites to purchase. A scene of Mexico City. The vice palace is in the background. Women have fancy dresses. This represents the colonial aspect of the Mexican city. Transformed from Aztec rule. The fountain can be a representation of elite identity and status, water is for enjoyment not for drinking.

Question 3

Juan Correa, The Four Elements and the Liberal Arts, c. 1670s, oil on canvas supported on wooden frames with a gold-leaf and gesso-embossed border

Answer 3

Large-scale paintings of Biombo. Inspired by European Imagery. On the left, you see 2 of the 4 classical elements: air, fire, earth, and water. Inspired by Flemish engravings. The right side of the screen (back of the painting) shows 5 of the 7 liberal arts: rhetoric, geometry, music, grammar, astronomy, logic, and arithmetic. Inspired by French engravings. Liberal arts is personified by women. They appear in this idyllic landscape and are surrounded by objects that help the viewer identify them. They have ribbons approved by them which tell them what they represent (a figure of grammar, an outstretched arm, and an odd-looking fountain with water pouring up and down. It shows the Roman alphabet).

Question 4

Palo volador

Answer 4

flying pole

Question 5

Juego de Palo

Answer 5

Someone tossing a log into the air. It is a performative element.

Question 6

mitote

Answer 6

dance with a performer impersonating Moctezuma

Question 7

anonymous, folding screen with Indian wedding, Mitote, and flying pole (biombe con desposorio indigena, mitote y palo volador), meixco, ca. 1660-1690, oil on canvas

Answer 7

Spanish colonial influence with the Catholic church. The wedding in the right. The pole dance in the middle. On the left is someone performing juego de palo.

Question 8

enconchado

Answer 8

shell-encrusted painting (concha means shell). It was made in New Spain between 1650-1750. Enconchado paintings are often covered with a coat but it not lacquer. This is linked to Japanese Nanban (Nanban pieces are typical furnishings made for households like miniature coffers, desks, etc.) (uses Lacquers which are a type of varnish that gives the wood a varnish.)

Question 9

Miquel Gonzales, The virgin of Guadalupe, 1698, oil on canvas on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

Answer 9

This is an enconchado painting. The frames of these paintings have ornate imagery (flowers, leaves, birds, clusters of grapes). Typically painted with gold. They use shells to make a mosaic of the Virgin Mary. Her hands are clasped looking downwards and is on a crescent moon support with an angel. Above her is the figure of a dove representing the holy spirit. Below her is an eagle perched on a cactus which appears on the Mexican flag (based on the Aztec people). 4 scenes in the corner depicting the virgin story of Guadalupe. The top right is seeing Virgin Mary on the hill. The bottom left is Juan Diego with roses. Bottom right is Juan Diego going to the bishop showing his tilma. He included symbols of the Old Testament in the frame of the painting like a ladder (a reference to Jacob’s ladder of paradise), a ship (a ship of salvation), and a palm tree.

Virgin of Guadalupe story: Juan Diego goes to the Hill of Tepeyac the shrines of Tonantizon Aztec goddess. Mary tells him to go build a shrine to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga. She gives him proof that she appeared to Juan Diego. He gathers up Castilian roses and his cloak called tilma and he goes up the hill unravels his cloak and she appears on it showing a miracle has happened.

Question 10

Anonymous artists, Saint Joseph’s Dream and Repentance from Life of the Virgin series, 18th century, shellwork on panel

Answer 10

This is an enconchado painting. There is an elaborate frame. The flowers and leaves in this case are implied, not a specific species. Their shells are used in architecture as a decorative element (not a dominating element), and Saint Joesph is repenting.

Question 11

Gonzalez workshop, The Battle of Zempoala from the Conquest of Mexico series, 1670-1740, polychrome wood and lacquer, mother of pearl

Answer 11

Enchandos are also used for non-religious subjects. A colorful border on the top and bottom. A lot of fruits are depicted. Has a lot of attention to detail, and a variety of fruits with some of European origin like grapes, and pomegranates (frequently used in Christian imagery associated with fertility, and abundance). They included a fruit called memay from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The imagery is invoking an imagery of the Spanish conquest.

Question 12

Juan Gonzalez, Saint Francis Xavier Embarking for Asia, 1703, oil on wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl

Answer 12

Enconchando. Very colorful and has bred flowers, and grapes. This one in particular has a lot of detail in the frame. The leaves are painted dark green and on top of the painted in a lighter color, the veins of the leaves bring attention to details. Showing a bird lifting a grape. Another bird is opening its mouth to eat a bug. This is the only enconchado painting that shows insects and has flemish techniques within the painting. The iconography depicts Saint Francis who is about to travel the world. He is holding a map of Asia. Behind him, there are personifications of 4 continents (in human form in a single person). Saint Francis went to Asia as part of his mission campaign to spread catholicism and died in China making him a saint. It is less yellow compared to other enconchados.

Question 14

Agustin del Pino, Saint Ignatius Loyola, early 1700s, oil on board with shell inlay

Agustin del Pino, Saint Francis Xavier, early 1700s, oil on board with shell inlay

Answer 14

Made as a pair. The one on the right has a new frame obscuring the view of the original frame. Both are bust portraits. They both have these beams of light/rays extending from their heads (indicating they are a saint and evoke halos). The left painting of Layolo is holding a book just like the wedding painting of Cuzco school. He wears an elaborate robe compared to the one in Cuzco where in Cuzco he is wearing a black robe which was a part of the Jesuit order.