Pictured politics : visualizing colonial history in South American portrait collections / Emily A Engel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Engel, Emily A., 1978- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Portraits--Political aspects--South America--History.

Portraits.

Art, South American--18th century.

Art, South American.

Politics in art.

South America--Biography--Portraits.

South America.

Genre:

History

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (209 pages)

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The Spanish colonial period in South America saw artists develop the subgenre of official portraiture, or portraits of key individuals in the continent's viceregal governments. Although these portraits appeared to illustrate a narrative of imperial splendor and absolutist governance, they instead became a visual record of the local history that emerged during the colonial occupation. Using the official portrait collections accumulated between 1542 and 1830 in Lima, Buenos Aires, and Bogotá as a lens, Pictured Politics explores how official portraiture originated and evolved to become an essential component in the construction of Ibero-American political relationships. Through the surviving portraits and archival evidence--including political treatises, travel accounts, and early periodicals--Emily Engel demonstrates that these official portraits not only belie a singular interpretation as tools of imperial domination but also visualize the continent's multilayered history of colonial occupation. The first stand alone analysis of South American portraiture, Pictured Politics brings to light the historical relevance of political portraits in crafting the history of South American colonialism.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Art and Authority in Late Colonial South American Portraiture

Chapter 1. New Pictorial Practices

Chapter 2. Visualizing Empire's History

Chapter 3. Picturing Viceregal Authority in the Lima City Council

Chapter 4. Municipal Collecting

Chapter 5. Portrayal in a Time of Transition

Epilogue. The Afterlife of Official Portraits

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4773-2061-X

1-4773-2060-1

OCLC:

1266227820