Art in Latin America
This Web page has materials related to art in Latin America, specifically in New Spain during the colonial period (very roughly: before, during, and after the 17th century).
Art Reference Books | Books | Identify Articles | Latin American Art on the Web |
Art Reference Books
Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. N 31 .D5 1996 Reference. Online link Art Online available to CSU affiliates.
The major book on art. Extensive entries, most with bibliographies. Search online by keyword or browse by article title, contributor, or index. Look up country or group. Online search includes articles from The Oxford Companion to Western Art (listed below), so be sure to cite carefully. Look up the name of the specific country of interest for background information and kinds of artwork produced. Search for images from collections, too. Highly recommended.
Enciclopedia del Peru. F 3409.5 .E63 2001 Ref
Useful encyclopedia of Peru. Lavishly illustrated. In Spanish.
Encyclopedia of Latin American & Caribbean Art. N 6502 .E53 2000 Reference
Subset of Dictionary of Art, with updated entries, additional illustrations and color plates.
Encyclopedia of World Art. 15 vols. N 31 .E533 Reference
See Vol. 1 Americas: Art Since Columbus (pp. 244-348; paging a bit unusual here) and Vol. 9 Mexico (pp. 828-62), among others. Images (plates) in second part of book on glossy paper, most in black and white.
Facts on File Encyclopedia of Art. 5 vols. N 31 .F33 2005 Reference
See Chaper 50 Latin American Art (pp. 905-14).
The Oxford Companion to Western Art. N 33 .O923 2001 Reference
Comprehensive entries on artists, movements, museums, methods, materials (e.g. chalk), eras, etc. As an example, the entry on perspective has 41 explanatory or example figures. Search online in Dictionary of Art (above).
Books
Identify books on Latin American art in general (and specific kinds) in the library catalog, SAGE. Identify additional titles in Prospector, the Colorado Union Catalog. CSU affiliates may request items from Prospector (but must establish a PIN in SAGE first). Search the following terms using a Subject search; be sure to look at the subdivisions as well, when available. Some of the subjects below have only one or two books about them at CSU.
Art -- Latin America |
Painting, Colonial -- Mexico |
Search for a specific artist by doing both an author search (last name first) and subject search (also last name first); there may be overlap, but do both to make sure nothing is missed; look at subdivision titles as well (e.g. [artist] criticism and interpretation):
Juana Ines De La Cruz Sister 1651-1695
Kahlo, Frida
Rivera, Diego
Specific books of interest (these are in circulating and non-circulating collections; be sure to check the library catalog for availability; if checked out, see if there is a Prospector copy available [CSU affiliates only]:
- Art and Time in Mexico: From the Conquest to the Revolution.N6553 .W44 1985 Morgan
- Casta Painting: Images of Race in Eighteenth-Century Mexico. ND 1312.M44 K37 2004 Morgan
- Colonial Art in Mexico. N 6553 T6813 Morgan
- Converging Cultures: Art and Identity in Spanish America. N 6553 .C66 1996 Morgan
- Culture and Customs of Peru. F 3448 .F37 2003 Curriculum
- Daily Life in Colonial Peru, 1710-1820. F 3444 .D413 1968 Storage
- Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture. 2 vols. F 1210 .E63 1997 Reference
- Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. E 18.82 .E44 2006 Morgan
- Mexican Art Masterpieces. N 6550 .B87 1998 Morgan
- Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries. N 6550 M48 1990 Morgan
- Painting a New World: Mexican Art and Life, 1521-1821. ND 253 .P54 2004 Morgan
- Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest. F 1230 .R47 2003 Morgan
- Spanish Peru, 1532-1560: A Colonial Society. F3444 .L83 Morgan
- Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art. N 6550 N4 1972 Morgan
Identify Articles
Use the following indexes/databases to identify articles by topic, for example, about an artist. Search for articles about a specific artist by the artist's name (leave out his or her country, century, etc.; adding unnecessary terms will only harm your search). JSTOR is full text for items at least 3-5 years old; check FindIt@CSU for electronic and/or print ownership (found in the library catalog SAGE) in the other databases. Check SAGE for articles identified in the print indexes.
Academic Search Premier. Varies.
Art Abstracts. 1984- . Also in print, scattered years from 1932-1998; Z 5937 .A78 Reference South
Shellwork (enchochado)
Colonial furniture, Latin American
Santos and southwest
Posters, Cuban
Doorways
Art Index Retrospective 1929-1984.
Electronic Collections Online (ECO). Varies.
Historical Abstracts. 1954- .
JSTOR. Varies.
Casta paintings
Diego Rivera
Frida Kahlo
Retablo“Birth of a Virgin”
Relicarios
Spanish colonial furniture
New York Times Historical 1851- .
Palmer's Index to the Times (London). 1790-1941. AI 21 .T51 Reference South. The Times newspaper is found at AN .T5 Journal Room on Microfilm.
Project MUSE.
Retablo
Textiles and Peru
Web of Science (search Arts & Humanities Citation Index 1975- within).
Latin American Art on the Web
In all cases be sure to evaluate what you find on the Web!
Colonial Era. Universes in Universe - Worlds of Art. Gerhard Haupt & Pat Binder.
Annotated list of links to Web sites to do with the Mexican Colonial period of art. Some of the links below are off of this page.
The Grandeur of Viceregal Mexico. Museo Franz Meyer. (English.) Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. College of Education, University of Houston.
Detailed information about selected items categorized under: Colonies in a New World; Taking a Chair; Drinking Chocolate and Tea; Portraiture in the European Colonies; The Reina Ana Style in Mexico City and the Queen Anne Style in Philadelphia; A Chalice and a Cup Used in Churches; Furniture Forms for Storage; Women and Sewing; Writing Desks in Mexico and New York; and East Meets West - The Influence of Lacquerware. Click on "further information" for details about the image (option for larger image) and the context.
Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches. Claire and Richard Stracke.
"A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico."
Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries. Humanities Interactive.
Essays supporting an exhibition. Bibliographies. Click on left-side images or hyperlinked words beneath them for larger image--scroll down inner scroll bar for details.
Latin America Art. Voice of the Shuttle.
Links off to multiple sites, sorted by time period and location.
Art of Mexico: Latin American Art. Princeton Online.
Links to multiple sites. Briefly annotated.
Hispanic Art Links. artists, museums, galleries, and on-line collections of Hispanic art.
Some links sorted by century. Museum section sorted by country.
Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art. Smithsonian Institution.
Information about Latin American crafts by type. Clay, leather, metal, paper, plant fibers, stone, textiles, wood, various. Gives short historical background. Contemporary (21st century) artists highlighted.
Artists by Nationality: Mexican Artists. ArtCyclopedia.
Chronological listing of Mexican artists. Click on name for commerial galleries, paintings in museums and public art galleries, image archives, and more. This is a semi-commercial site, so be careful not to purchase something unless that is your intention. Clicking on images brings up a commerical poster-selling site. CSU does not endorse commerical sites. This page is listed here for the information it provides about the artists and where their artwork may be found in museums and public galleries.
Smithsonian Institution, Search page.
Search for art form to see if there is an image (with description) or article. For example: Santos: Substance & Soul Photo Gallery. The site has recently been redone, so there may not be anything readily available.
Retablo Collection. New Mexico State University Art Gallery.
"The Art Gallery at New Mexico State University holds the largest public collection of retablos— religious images painted on tin plates — in the United States. This art form flourished in Mexico during the nineteenth-century." Retablo index.
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art. Santa Fe, NM.
See The Traditional Arts for definitions and examples.
Casta Paintings: The Construction and Depiction of Race in Colonial Mexico. Christa Johanna Olson.
Shows and links to paintings showing various mixes, with descriptive details.
James the Greater. Patron Saints Index.
Information about the saint. Under images, click on "Gallery" to find images of the saint in art.
Images of Medieval Art and Architecture: Saint James the Greater. Text from Sacred and Legendary Art by Anna Jameson. Third Editon: London, 1911, pages 230-9. Headings added, and references to Renaissance art deleted by Jane Vadnal.
Biographical information about the saint, and information about portrayals of the saint.
In all cases be sure to evaluate what you find on the Web!
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Content: Naomi Lederer