2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Nov 21, 2024

2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ARTH 233 - Tropical Baroque: The Arts of Colonial Latin America

Tropical Baroque will be the first seminar devoted to the Renaissance and Baroque art and architecture of Colonial Latin America (1492-1820), an arts tradition of greater richness and diversity than many in Europe itself. It will include not only Spanish America, including New Spain (Mexico, New Mexico and California), the Andean region, the Caribbean, Brazil and the Southern Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), but also the former Portuguese territories in Brazil. The course will consider architecture, including palaces and villas, cathedrals and churches, and fortresses and public spaces. It will also examine painting and sculpture, both religious and secular, as well as the so-called minor arts such as furniture, metalwork, textiles and ceramics, which have received much attention in recent scholarship. The field of Colonial Latin-American art is enjoying a renaissance in recent years. The people and societies who produced and used this art and architecture came from the widest spectrum of backgrounds and walks of life. They included Amerindians, Africans, Asians and mestizos, as well as Europeans from places as varied as Spain, Italy and Bohemia. Mirroring the incredible diversity of Latin America’s natural landscapes, colonial art and architecture blended styles and techniques from Aztec, Inca and Guaraní civilizations with those from Europe, North Africa and the Far East to produce works of unprecedented creativity and originality.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Spring 2010, Offered every other year