The hybridization of indigenous and European arts in the colonial Americas can best be viewed through the lens of religious art and architecture from the Viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru. The fusion of European and indigenous beliefs and aesthetics, and how these melded into a new style, can be viewed in architecture, retablos (altarpieces), oratorios (oratories), and paintings. Images such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and the cornstalk Christ.

Writing has a long history in Mesoamerica from the early writing system of the Formative Period Olmec culture to the Aztec manuscripts of the early Colonial period. Less than 100 Mixtec and Aztec manuscripts are known from the pre-Hispanic and early Colonial periods that indicate the role of writing both before, during, and after the conquest of New Spain. This talk explores the Mixtec and Aztec manuscripts of the late pre-Hispanic and early Colonial periods, including an analysis of naming and writing conventions, toponyms, and their function as legal documents.

In the early sixteenth century, the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mesoamerica and South America in search of wealth and fame. What they found, though, were the highly complex empires of the Mexica (now known as the Aztec) of Mesoamerica and the Inka of South America. Through their sensationalized writings, the Spanish left a legacy of misunderstandings and misinformation about these ancient American cultures. By using first-hand accounts and objects from the VMFA’s collection, this talk engages with sixteenth-century colonial accounts and considers them from the view of the Mexica and Inka.

For Ancient American cultures, such as the Maya and the Inka, the materiality of the artwork held important significance. Materials like jade, turquoise, feathers, spondylus, gold, silver, and textiles were highly prized because of their association with life-giving forces, such as water, the sky, the sun, and the moon. Using examples from the VMFA’s collection, this talk explores how materiality in the Ancient Americas informs the artwork’s meaning.