Start Date

4-28-2025 9:10 AM

End Date

4-28-2025 10:25 AM

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | History | Inequality and Stratification | Race and Ethnicity

Subjects

Casta painting, Miscegenation (Racist theory) in art

Abstract

Casta paintings of 18th century Mexico are a prime example of an art form mixed with political propaganda, as the 4x4 style paintings depicted over a dozen racial mixings in one painting. Created by Mexican artists for the viewing of Spanish elites, Casta paintings helped to establish the racial hierarchy that continues to be embedded into Latin American society. This paper seeks to determine to what degree Casta paintings served as hierarchical means of Christian, Enlightenment-era colonial control.

Part of the panel: Picturesque and Problematic
Moderator: Professor Jennifer Tappan

Creative Commons License or Rights Statement

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/43639

Share

COinS
 
Apr 28th, 9:10 AM Apr 28th, 10:25 AM

Cuadros de Casta: A Pseudo-Scientific Means of Control and Racial Taxonomy in Colonial Mexico

Casta paintings of 18th century Mexico are a prime example of an art form mixed with political propaganda, as the 4x4 style paintings depicted over a dozen racial mixings in one painting. Created by Mexican artists for the viewing of Spanish elites, Casta paintings helped to establish the racial hierarchy that continues to be embedded into Latin American society. This paper seeks to determine to what degree Casta paintings served as hierarchical means of Christian, Enlightenment-era colonial control.

Part of the panel: Picturesque and Problematic
Moderator: Professor Jennifer Tappan