questioning the role ofdisplay in colonial latinamerican visual culture

Splendor,Spectacle,

Self-FashioningNOVEMBER 3 & 4, 2017

inte

rnational symposium on colonial latin american

art

school of art and art history · university of florida · FAB 105 · gain

esville

, fl

WELCOME! This symposium seeks to critically address how images were dis-played in their original contexts during the colonial period in dif-ferent areas of Latin America. We ask how multiple images coexisted and worked together, and how this shapes our understanding of the object as it was commissioned and viewed during the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. By considering decorative programs in seventeenth- and eighteenth-cen-tury sacred spaces and agency and legitimization of personas and institutions through the concept of display, the keynote lecture and presentations will respond to and problematize these questions. We are grateful for the participation of our keynote speaker, Dr. Clara Bargellini, and all the presenters who make this event possible

¡BIENVENIDOS!Este simposio busca abordar críti-camente cómo las imágenes fueron exhibidas en sus contextos origina-les durante el período colonial en diferentes áreas de América Latina. Nos preguntamos cómo múltiples imágenes coexistieron y trabajaron juntas, y cómo esto modela nuestra comprensión del objeto tal y como fue comisionado y visto entre los siglos XVI y XVIII. Considerando programas decorativos en espa-cios sagrados de los siglos XVII y XVIII, y la agencia y legitimación de individuos e instituciones a través del concepto de exhibición, la conferencia magistral y las present-aciones responderán y problema-tizarán estas preguntas. Estamos agradecidas por la participación de nuestra oradora principal, Dra. Clara Bargellini, y todos los expositores que hacen posible este evento.

Leslie E. ToddPh.D. Candidate, Art HistoryUniversity of Florida Macarena Deij Prado

Professor of Art HistoryInstituto Botticelli para el Arte y la Restauración, Cuernavaca, Mexico

Maya Stanfield-MazziAssociate Professor of Art HistoryUniversity of Florida

Please visit us at: http://arts.ufl.edu/sites/claa-symposium/

All information found in this program can also be found in Spanish on our website. Click on the link to the left entitled Versión en español.

With the exception of the keynote lecture, each individual presentation throughout the symposium will be 20 minutes long followed by a 10-minute question and answer session.

2:00 – 2:10pmOpening RemarksLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

2:15 – 4:30pmSession IDecorative Program in 17th- and 18th- century Sacred SpacesLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

Illusion and Artifice: Reflective Ma-terials in Quito’s Jesuit ChurchIsabel Oleas-MogollónPresentation given in English

Praying through the Senses: An Ap-proach to the Ochavo Chapel from its Artistic and Votive CollectionElsaris Núñez MéndezPresentation given in Spanish

The Altarpiece of the Mystical Saints of the Chapel Medina PicazoVerónica Guadalupe Herrera RiveraPresentation given in Spanish

Religious Visual Culture during the 17th Century in the New Kingdom of Granada in Light of the Doctrinal Temples: The cases of Sutatausa, Turmequé, Suesca, and Chivatá Dario Velandia OnofrePresentation given in Spanish

6:00 – 7:30pmKeynote lecture by Dr. Clara Bargellini “Mexican Altarpieces: Interactions in Time and Space” Followed by Q&A Location: FAB 105Open to the publicPresentation given in English

7:30 – 9:00pmReceptionLocation: University GalleryOpen to the public

Friday, Nov. 3

9:50 – 10:00amWelcome-back remarksLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

10:00am – 11:45pmSession IIAgency and Display as seen through Regional Cults, Style, and Public CeremoniesLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

Retablos and Facades: The Stag-ing of the Baroque in the Califor-nia MissionsCynthia Neri LewisPresentation given in English

Sacred Opulence: The Devotional Qualities of Our Lady of Guada-lupe at the Metropolitan Cathe-dral, SucreLucia AbramovichPresentation given in English

¡El Rey ha Muerto! ¡Viva el Rey! Political Ceremonies and Royal Symbols in Caracas’ Public Space, 1789-1790Andreína SotoPresentation given in English

11:45am – 1:30pmLunch break

1:30 – 3:45pmSession III Legitimizing Status through Por-traiture, Music, and DressLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

The Kimono in New Spain and the Representation of Creole Identity in the 18th CenturyAndreia Martins TorresPresentation given remotely in Spanish

Displaying Legitimacy: Monjas Coronadas Portraits within the HomeKelsey RozemaPresentation given in English

Strings, Keys, and Embellishments: The Visual and Auditory Experi-ence of Musical Instruments in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Cen-tury New SpainDiana López MeléndezPresentation given in Spanish

José Campeche and Portraiture in Late Eighteenth-Century San Juan, Puerto RicoEmily ThamesPresentation given in English

3:45 – 3:55pmClosing RemarksLocation: FAB 105Open to the public

4:05 – 5:30pmRoundtable Location: Salon in FACInvitation onlyCoffee and snacks provided

Saturday, Nov. 4

Clara Bargellini received her Bach-elor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and her Masters and Doctorate degrees in Art History from Harvard Univer-sity. She has been working at the Instituto de Investigaciones Estéti-cas (IIE) at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) since 1979. Dr. Bargellini is also a profes-sor of art history in the Colegio de Historia and in the Posgrado de Historia del Arte in the Department of Filosofía y Letras at UNAM. A preeminent scholar in the field of colonial Latin American art history, Dr.Bargellini’s work focuses on the art of colonial Mexico, otherwise known as the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In addition to her publica-tions on this topic listed below, she has published essays on the historiography of the art of New Spain and on collecting practic-es and the reception of the art of the same region, especially in the United States. Dr. Bargellini has also focused her career on the conservation of art as an awardee of the Kress Foundation in Florence after its founding in 1966. She is one of the founders and members

of the advising committee of the Diagnostic Laboratory of Works of Art of the IIE, and has published in collaboration with other disciplines and members of communities who face conservation issues in their cultural and artistic patrimony. In recent years, she has under-taken and promoted international and multinational approaches to the art of New Spain. She coor-dinated Arte y arquitectura virre-inales en Latinoamérica: visiones comparativas, a special edition of the journal Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas (1999). Dr. Bargellini’s interests also extend to the museum sphere in which she has also collaborated on numerous curatorial projects with colleagues and students. Among those seven projects, the most recent is entitled El arte de las misiones del norte de la Nueva España 1600-1821 (2009). Currently, she is working on projects about art and architecture in northern colonial Mexico with an interest in the art of New Spain as part of Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical culture. She is collab-orating on a project on the History of Art of Mexico of the IIE at UNAM.

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Clara Bargellini Cioni

“Mexican Altarpieces: Interactions in Time and Space”6:00 – 7:30pmFriday, November 3rd FAB 105

SESSION I: Decorative

Programs in

17th- and 18th-century

Sacred Spaces

NOV. 3

2:15PM - 4:30PM

FAB 105

Illusion and Artifice: Reflective Materials in Qui-to’s Jesuit Church / Ilusión y artificio: materiales

reflectantes en la iglesia jesuita de Quito

Isabel Oleas-Mogollón, Ph.D. candidate, University of DelawarePresentation given in English

“The church of La Compañía is one of the most famous buildings in South America due to its extraordinary beauty, lavishness and its noble design. Many Europeans claim that this church would stand out even in the most remarkable European cities, including Rome.” These en-thusiastic words, written by Mario Cicala in the eighteenth century, sum the awe that the richness of the interior of Quito’s Jesuit church continues to inspire. La Compañía’s gilded vault and altarpieces, its bejeweled statues of the Virgin and saints, its liturgical objects made of silver and gold, and the mirrors located in the side altars were certain to provoke admiration. Splendor, far from only showcasing the wealth of the Society of Jesus, served to underline the role of artistic skill in the elevation of Christian devotion. This paper addresses the importance of wonder in Jesuit art patronage by studying how the use and manipulation of reflective ma-terials related to early modern interpretations of divine artifice and illusionism.

Praying through the Senses: An Approach to the Ochavo Chapel from its Artistic and Votive Collection / Orar a través de los sentidos: una

aproximación a la capilla Ochavo desde su acervo artístico y votivo

Elsaris Núñez Méndez, Ph.D. candidate, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoPresentation given in Spanish

The Ochavo Chapel in the cathedral of Puebla has been consistently considered as one of the few religious spaces that still portrays the baroque splendor of its original decoration. Built and decorated between 1682 and 1688, this chapel presents an unusual octagonal plan and an eclectic decorative program that has led scholars to defend its uniqueness and, espe-cially, to consider it as the cathedral’s treasury or even more, as the first kunstkammer in the Americas. New documentary findings allow me, however, to question such secularizing interpretations and to propose, instead, an interpretation of this space and its artistic and votive collection from a different perspective. This paper questions and analyzes the changes to which both its architecture and altarpieces have been exposed, including the disappear-ance of certain lighting and optic resources, as well as devotional ones, that were essential for the display of painting- on- copper panels, feather-work mosaics, formerly- present lead, ivory and silver sculptures, and a great number of reliquaries and agnus dei waxes. In this way, this paper will explore the role of the devotional image in a complex context in which the inter-pretation of the altarpieces does not respond to traditional criteria. Stemming from contemporary descriptions it is possible then to examine the role of elements that are no longer present in the chapel and that were once essential for the establishment of a votive hierarchy that po-tentially influenced the viewing experience of prelates praying in this space prior Mass time. Through this approach, this paper addresses the spiritual function of the multimedia experi-ence the chapel’s decorative program offered in relation to contemporary takes on meditation through the senses.

SESSION I

The Altarpiece of the Mystical Saints of the Chapel Medina Picazo / El retablo de los santos

místicos de la Capilla Medina Picazo

Verónica Guadalupe Herrera Rivera, M.A. student, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de MéxicoPresentation given in Spanish

The Ex Convent of Regina Coeli in Mexico City has a unique eighteenth-century chapel, which stands out for its architecture as well as its private use. In it we find an overwhelming decorative program that catches the view of the investigator and the devotion of the believ-er. The chapel was built by don Buenaventura Medina Picazo, chaplain of the former convent of Nuestra Señora de la Natividad de Regina Coeli. The patron ordered that it be decorated with objects from his personal chapel. Don Bue-naventura died 4 years before the consecration of the chapel in 1735, but left detailed instruc-tions in his testament for the culmination of this work. This space has three altarpieces and an exquisite decoration from the dome to the floor. We will focus the analysis in the paintings of the altarpiece of the mystical saints painted by Nicolás Rodríguez Juárez and that, togeth-er with the opposite altarpiece of the Calvary and the frontal one on the life of Mary, form an image program oriented to the almost domestic devotion, but also at the same time inserted in the conventual practices.

Religious Visual Culture during the 17th Centu-ry in the New Kingdom of Granada in Light of

the Doctrinal Temples: The cases of Sutatausa, Turmequé, Suesca, and Chivatá / La cultura vi-sual religiosa durante el siglo XVII en el Nuevo Reino de Granada a la luz de los templos doc-trineros: Los casos de Sutatausa, Turmequé,

Suesca y Chivatá

Dario Velandia Onofre, Assistant professor of Art History Universidad de los AndesPresentation given in Spanish

During the 17th century in the New Kingdom of Granada, several places worked as decorative programs of display. Each of these spaces were part of a complex system in which the meanings arose from the contact of the spectator and the artistic devices. One of the first and most import-ant places of display was the Templos doctri-neros (doctrinal temples). These buildings were erected during the second half of the sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth century in the various territories of the New Kingdom of Granada and fulfilled a clear objective: to be the main vehicle for evangelization and Christianiza-tion of the indigenous peoples. The iconograph-ic programs that decorated the interior of its walls are a testimony of Neogranadine religious visual culture in colonial times as they show the function of images and their particular relation-ship with the spectators. Based on the study of four cases (Sutatausa, Turmequé, Suesca and Chivatá), this paper aims to approach doctrinal temples from two perspectives: the possible re-construction of their original decoration and the study of the deterioration of these spaces.

SESSION I

NOTES

SESSION II: Agency and Display

as seen through

Regional Cults,

Style, and Public

Ceremonies

NOV. 4

10AM - 11:45AM

FAB 105

Retablos and Facades: The Staging of the Baroque in the California Missions / Retablos y fachadas: la puesta en escena del barroco

en las misiones de California

Cynthia Neri Lewis, Ph.D. student, University of California, RiversidePresentation given in English

The California missions founded and built by Junípero Serra (1770-1782) and his successor, Fermín Lasuén (1786-1823) reside just between two different traditions in terms of their stylistic tendencies, aesthetic programs and display practices. While Serra’s pre-modern collecting approach favored a “Baroque Catholicism,” the post 1771 dictates from both the Church and the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City imposed a Neoclassical idiom. The resulting presenta-tions of Novohispanic Baroque paintings on a modern stage fulfilled the didactic and evangel-ical purposes of the Franciscans, but also reveal the ways by which they attempted to situate and maintain their position between the pre-mod-ern and modern Catholic worlds. Through an analysis and comparison of the visual programs presented via retablos and stone facades of selected California missions, the impact of the Serran agenda on mission-era and later percep-tions of the Baroque in California will be con-sidered. After the secularization of the missions in the 1830s and continuing into the early 20th century, the staging of Baroque art and architec-ture within the mission spaces served different purposes, namely, the visual representation of colonial memory and the construction of a Span-ish fantasy heritage for California.

Sacred Opulence: The Devotional Qualities of Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Metropolitan

Cathedral, Sucre / Opulencia sagrada: las cualidades devocionales de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en la Catedral Metropolitana, Sucre

Lucia Abramovich, Ph.D. candidate, Tulane UniversityPresentation given in English

In 1601, the Jeronymite friar Diego de Ocaña painted an extraordinary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe of Extremadura for the Cathedral of La Plata, now known as the Metropolitan Cathedral in Sucre, Bolivia. This painting is best known for its heavy embellishment, having received precious tribute in the form of gold and silver threads, gemstones, jewelry, and medal-lions over the past four centuries. In this paper, I will explore the importance of these adornments to the display of this special Marian advoca-tion, arguing that the ornamentation of Sucre’s Guadalupe is instrumental to the fulfillment of Ocaña’s purpose of creating images of the Vir-gin for promoting her veneration and uniting the people of Alto Peru under the singular domain of the Catholic faith. The painting also communi-cates the impact of precious metals and gems to the wealth concentrated in the region surround-ing the mining capital of Potosí. This wealth must be considered in assessing the work’s power as an implement for evangelization and devotion. Using the writings of Diego de Ocaña and an official inventory of the painting’s embel-lishments from 1784, I will explore how Sucre’s Guadalupe is enmeshed in the practices of piety and enterprise in the Viceregal Andes.

¡El Rey ha Muerto! ¡Viva el Rey! Political Cere-monies and Royal Symbols in Caracas’ Public Space, 1789-1790 / ¡El Rey ha Muerto! ¡Viva el

Rey! Ceremonias públicas y símbolos reales en el espacio público de Caracas, 1789-1790

Andreína Soto, Ph.D. student, University of California, Santa BarbaraPresentation given in English

This paper studies the role visual culture played during the performance of political ceremonies in late-colonial Caracas as symbols of power that helped renovate monarchic power and legitimize the social and political status of local institutions. Through the analysis of archival documents, this paper closely looks at public ceremonies in the city of Caracas during the years 1789 and 1790, when the city council –managed by the white creoles- executed the funerary acts for the late King Charles III and the proclamation of his successor, Charles IV. My research argues the city council used the visual culture displayed in these ceremonies as a strat-egy to safeguard their own legitimacy during the transition of power. By controlling the construc-tion of a sumptuous burial mound at the Caracas Cathedral and designing a royal banner with the city’s emblem next to the monarchy’s coat of arms, the councilmen tried to create a symbolic connection with the “body politic” of the king to reassert their local authority. Moreover, the conflicts produced by the councilmen’s actions reveal how they used political ceremonies and visual culture to counteract the changes that, due to the Bourbon Reforms, affected their juris-diction in the city of Caracas.

SESSION II

NOTES

SESSION III:Legitimizing Status

through Portraiture,

Music, and Dress

NOV 4

1:30PM - 3:45PM

FAB 105

The Kimono in New Spain and the Representa-tion of Creole Identity in the 18th Century / El quimono en la Nueva España y la represent-ación de la identidad criolla en el siglo XVIII

Andreia Martins Torres, Ph.D. candidate, Universidad Complutense de Madrid Presentation given remotely in Spanish

This paper aims to include New Spain in the debates about the spread of Asian gowns, or inspired by these models, in the Western world. During the 18th century the use of this type of garment became fashionable among the privi-leged classes throughout Europe. This subject has motivated several articles. The main authors have focused on the market and dissemination networks of the Dutch and British merchants. In other cases, they pay attention to the symbolic meanings, but the context of the Iberian empires or their territories in America still have not been incorporated into these reflections.The close contacts with Asia and their role in the circulation of objects of that origin justify the pertinence of considering their contribution to the diffusion of this fashion and the particular circumstances in which it was literally incorpo-rated into the wardrobe of each province. I focus exclusively on the case of New Spain to analyze the role played by the kimono in the dynamics of ostentation and social differentia-tion throughout the 18th century, correspond-ing to the period of greatest incidence in the region. For this purpose, archival sources, such as inventories of personal property or stores, as well as pictorial and literary references will be taken into account. Considering that dressing is an important way for the social construction of the individual and their self-representation, I will recover the meaning of the garment for the Spanish “casta”, who are often associated with kimonos in artistic narratives. I will ultimately demonstrate how those clothes, named with a word of Japanese origin, served to complement decorative programs of display that included the body.

Displaying Legitimacy: Monjas Coronadas Portraits within the Home / Mostrando legitim-idad: retratos de monjas coronadas dentro del

hogarKelsey Rozema, M.A. candidate, University of Wisconsin, MilwaukeePresentation given in English

Current scholarship pertaining to the study of the monjas coronadas (crowned nun) portraits focuses on their semiotic value in New Spain. Modern scholars, when discussing this genre of portraiture, focus on how the iconography of the images reflected the budding Creole culture. However, scholarship has yet to address the function of monjas coronadas portraits within the New Spanish home. This paper will address this gap in scholarship by examining how the portraits were displayed. I will specifically look at the role and influence of the portraits within the secular realm of the New Spanish family. My paper aims to answer the question: how does the display of the monjas coronadas portraits affect their function within New Spain? Current scholars on monjas coronadas portraits do not examine the potential ways the paintings would be displayed within the Creole home. Focusing on the iconography of the monjas coronadas portraits does not allow for a satisfac-tory explanation on the display of the paintings. Instead of using a semiotic approach, my argu-ment relates the images to material culture, and the thematic programming of Habsburg salons. Using the exhibition catalogue, Behind Closed Doors: Art in the Spanish American Home, 1492–1898, as a frame work, my paper shows that by relating the portraits to the display of other portraits in elite spaces, the room in which the monjas coronadas were displayed can be defined. By defining this room, my paper will then be able to address how the display of the portraits enables the paintings to perform their secular function: to legitimize the family’s elite status within New Spanish society.

Strings, Keys, and Embellishments: The Visual and Auditory Experience of Musical Instru-

ments in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Centu-ry New Spain / Cuerdas, teclas y ornamentos:

la experiencia visual y auditiva de los instru-mentos novohispanos, siglos XVII-XVIII

Diana López Meléndez, M.A. student, Universidad Autónoma de MéxicoPresentation given in Spanish

Within the musical repertoire in the New Spain, one could find the sones, the valonas, the corri-dos, and the romances. The aristocracy pre-ferred melodies with human voices and instru-mental accompaniment. It was in their homes where one could listen to harps, guitars, Spanish lutes, harpsichords, clavichords, and organs. Thus, their banquets and social gatherings were entertained by a varied musical repertoire. Not only was there an auditory delight; the wonder-ful keyboard instruments were a visual marvel as they were designed with paintings and embellishments that hailed from sculpture and architecture. These instruments were decorated with gallantries, hunting scenes, episodes from classic mythology, biblical episodes, etc., which aimed to represent the aristocratic way of life while showcasing cultural status. These instru-ments were part of the furnishings meant to be put on display to prove the aristocratic power and social status. This was the case of the Duch-ess of San Jorge, the Count of San Bartolomé de Xala, and the Marquis of Jaral y Berrio.

SESSION III

José Campeche and Portraiture in Late Eigh-teenth-Century San Juan, Puerto Rico / José Campeche y el Retrato en San Juan, Puerto

Rico al final de siglo XVIIIEmily Thames, Ph.D. candidate, Florida State UniversityPresentation given in English

Portraits served a variety of purposes and ap-peared in myriad settings in late eighteenth-cen-tury San Juan, Puerto Rico. During grand state events, likenesses of the reigning monarchs were displayed on the Plaza de Armas. Official portraits of colonial officials were placed on view in the Fortaleza and Cabildo, and depic-tions of church leaders appeared in the Arch-bishop’s Palace. Wealthy individuals displayed portraits in their homes, and likenesses of nuns adorned the walls of the convents in which they lived and served. In this paper, I examine specific portraits created by José Campeche (1751-1809), a prolific artist active in the city during this time, as case studies to consider the different ways in which San Juan society utilized portraits and to raise questions about the com-mission and display of such works. I argue that though Campeche’s portraits vary in their formal qualities and purposes, they can be considered together as individual components of a thriving image culture that emerged on the island during the era of military and economic reform under the Bourbon regime when the urban landscape and population of the city underwent drastic changes.

NOTES

We would also like to thank the following

individuals for their instrumental

participation and support:

We are grateful to the University Gallery for hosting the reception and to our sponsors whose generous donations made this symposium possible.

Faculty advisor: Maya Stanfield-Mazzi

Faculty advisor: Maria Rogal

Staff advisor: Oicenth Josephs

HESCAH coordinator: Elizabeth Gleeson

Accounting: Victoria Masters

Website: Tom Reno

Graphic Designers: Daniel Leonardos,

Rachel McDonald

Contributor: Marcela Varona