New Spain consisted of Mexico, much of Central America, parts of the West Indies, from California to Florida, and the Philippines.
c. 1521–1821 C.E.
Beginner's guide
Columbus's voyage marked an important moment for both Europe and the Americas—expanding the known world on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and ushering in an era of major transformations in the cultures and lives of people across the globe.
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A shimmering saint, St. John in featherwork
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, the Indigenous technique of featherworking continued with Christian subject matter.
Sebastián López de Arteaga, Marriage of the Virgin
Learn about Joseph, Mary, and the representation of marriage in New Spain in López de Arteaga's painting
Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz, Christ Consoled by Angels
An 18th-century painting from New Spain visualizes Christ's suffering in New Spain
A new Jerusalem in the Americas—the convento of Acolman
San Agustín de Acolman’s style suggests a protective function, and may have referenced the temple of Jerusalem, celebrating Mexico as a “New Jerusalem” where the Christian faith could flourish.
Nativity group, from Guatemala
A Nativity group made in wood from colonial Guatemala shows why sculptors from this area were renowned in the viceroyalties
The Codex Huexotzinco
The images in the Huexotzinco Codex help us to learn more about tribute, conquest and the conditions of colonialism, Native agency, Nahua writing systems, Indigenous knowledge, the importance of images, early Christianity in the Americas, and legal disputes.
Church of Santa Prisca and San Sebastian, Taxco, Mexico
One of the most remarkable churches from 18th-century Mexico has a façade and interior that seem to writhe with life.
Cristóbal de Villalpando, View of the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City
Merchants brought goods from across oceans to sell to the residents of the city in the Parián of Mexico City—a place that Cristóbal de Villalpando's captures in a painting from 1695
Defensive saints and angels in the Spanish Americas
Images of angels and saints as protectors were common in the 16th–18th Spanish Americas to symbolize their defense of the Christian faith.
Crowned nun portraits, an introduction
One of the most famous types of female portraits in the colonial Spanish Americas are the monjas coronadas, or crowned nuns, so named for the elaborate floral crowns atop their heads.
Mission San Antonio de Valero & the Alamo
At the Alamo, the representation of patriotic heroism and brave sacrifice eclipses Spain’s earlier colonial presence and the history of the site’s ruination, reconstruction, and reframing.
Elite secular art in New Spain
Elites of New Spain decorated their private residencies with portraits, furniture, silver, textiles, and ceramics to showcase their wealth and status in colonial society.
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