Product Description

Mexico's churches and conventos display a unique blend of European and native styles. Missionary Mendicant friars arrived in New Spain shortly after Cortes's conquest of the Aztec empire in 1521 and immediately related their own European architectural and visual arts styles to the tastes and expectations of native Indians. Right from the beginning the friars conceived of conventos as a special architectural theater in which to carry out their proselytizing. Over four hundred conventos were established in Mexico between 1526 and 1600, and more still in New Mexico in the century following, all built and decorated by native Indian artisans who became masters of European techniques and styles even as they added their own influence. The author argues that these magnificent sixteenth and seventeenth-century structures are as much part of the artistic patrimony of American Indians as their pre-Conquest temples, pyramids, and kivas. Mexican Indians, in fact, adapted European motifs to their own pictorial traditions and thus made a unique contribution to the worldwide spread of the Italian Renaissance.

The author brings a wealth of knowledge of medieval and Renaissance European history, philosophy, theology, art, and architecture to bear on colonial Mexico at the same time as he focuses on indigenous contributions to the colonial enterprise. This ground-breaking study enriches our understanding of the colonial process and the reciprocal relationship between European friars and native artisans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #777643 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
In an increasingly sensitised multicultural world there is need for more books like this that challenge with images and text. -- London Times Higher Education Supplement, April 4, 2003

Readers will come away not only with more appreciation of these momumental buildings but also enlightened by the insightful analysis. -- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, March, 2003

Samuel Edgerton provides an engaging, often impassioned, informative study...a model of clarity. -- The Americas, January, 2003

Review
"Edgerton's text is enthusiastic in tone and always intelligent, lucid, and well supported with primary sources." (Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians )

From the Publisher
In this enthusiastic study by a noted historian of Italian Renaissance art, Edgerton’s dual mission is to make better known and appreciated the art and architecture produced in Mexico in the 16th century under the direction of mendicant friars and to account for its religious impact on the indigenous people and for its production by native artisans . . . . His analyses are bold and imaginative . . . . Stimulating reading for all students of Spanish colonial art, this book should be in every library collecting the culture and history of Mexico.—Choice

Customer Reviews

Mexican Art
I loved this book, and am currently doing something I've done only twice in my life. I finished it and have turned back to the beginning to read it again.
Not only is the material absolutely fascinating, but the author is a lovely writer. I go to Mexico frequently, and this book will change and profoundly deepen the way I look at so many of the old churches and convents I've always enjoyed visiting.
The author should consider organizing a tour of the places covered in this work. I'd love to go.
Connie Green, Napa CA