The paradise garden murals of Malinalco : utopia and empire in sixteenth-century Mexico / Jeanette Favrot Peterson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peterson, Jeanette Favrot, author.

Series:

ACLS Humanities E-Book.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 224 pages ) : ill. (some color), maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin, [Texas] : University of Texas Press, 1993.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The valley of Malinalco, Mexico, long renowned for its monolithic Aztec temples, is a microcosm of the historical changes that occurred in the centuries preceding and following the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. In particular, the garden frescoes uncovered in 1974 at the Augustinian monastery of Malinalco document the collision of the European search for Utopia with the reality of colonial life. In this study, Jeanette F. Peterson examines the murals within the dual heritage of pre-Hispanic and European muralism to reveal how the wall paintings promoted the political and religious agendas of the Spanish conquerors while preserving a record of pre-Columbian rituals and imagery. She finds that the utopian themes portrayed at Malinalco and other Augustinian monasteries were integrated into a religious and political ideology that, in part, camouflaged the harsh realities of colonial policies toward the native population. That the murals were ultimately whitewashed at the end of the sixteenth century suggests that the "spiritual conquest" failed. Peterson argues that the incorporation of native features ultimately worked to undermine the orthodoxy of the Christian message. She places the murals' imagery within the pre-Columbian tlacuilo (scribe-painter) tradition, traces a "Sahagún connection" between the Malinalco muralists and the native artists working at the Franciscan school of Tlatelolco, and explores mural painting as an artistic response to acculturation. The book is beautifully illustrated with 137 black-and-white figures, including photographs and line drawings. For everyone interested in the encounter between European and Native American cultures, it will be essential reading.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

Chapter One INTRODUCTION

Chapter Two MALINALCO AND THE AUGUSTINIANS

Chapter Three THE PAINTERS

Chapter Four THE SOURCE

Chapter Five THE IMAGERY: FLORA AND FAUNA

Chapter Six PARADISE CONVERGED

Chapter Seven UTOPIA AND IMPERIAL POLICY

Chapter Eight THE AUGUSTINIAN MURAL PROGRAM

Chapter Nine UTOPIA LOST

Appendix A SIXTEENTH-CENTURY MEXICAN MONASTERIES VISITED

Appendix B FIFTEENTH-AND EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY MURALS IN SPAIN

Appendix C FLORA IN THE MALINALCO GARDEN FRESCOES

Appendix D FAUNA IN THE MALINALCO GARDEN FRESCOES

Appendix E SIXTEENTH-CENTURY MURAL THEMES IN MEXICO AND PRIMARY MONASTIC LOCATIONS

NOTES

REFERENCES CITED

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780292769182

0292769180

OCLC:

1280943090

Publisher Number:

2027/heb30547 hdl