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.
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.
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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After the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, the Indigenous technique of featherworking continued with Christian subject matter.
Learn about Joseph, Mary, and the representation of marriage in New Spain in López de Arteaga's painting
An 18th-century painting from New Spain visualizes Christ's suffering in New Spain
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.
A Nativity group made in wood from colonial Guatemala shows why sculptors from this area were renowned in the viceroyalties
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.
One of the most remarkable churches from 18th-century Mexico has a façade and interior that seem to writhe with life.
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
Images of angels and saints as protectors were common in the 16th–18th Spanish Americas to symbolize their defense of the Christian faith.
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.
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.
Elites of New Spain decorated their private residencies with portraits, furniture, silver, textiles, and ceramics to showcase their wealth and status in colonial society.
Bank of America's Masterpiece Moment
Crafted in the 16th century, this pair of six-panel screens is painted in ink on paper and showcases both Yamato-e and Chinese painting styles. The work features pine trees―a typical Japanese motif―and it has beautifully captured the richness of a Japanese landscape.