Author(s): Gauvin Alexander Bailey

Art

A lively account of the interaction between European and indigenous artist that took place during more than 300 years of Spanish and Portuguese colonial influence in Latin America (c. 1492-1820). The book offers a fascinating insight into viceregal, missionary and civic architecture, as well as painting, sculpture and such 'minor arts' as furniture, textiles and ceramics. This is a long-awaited book on an increasingly popular subject and includes many previously unillustrated works. For over three hundred years, from the era of Christopher Columbus to the struggles for independence around 1820, Latin America witnessed an artistic flowering of enormous creativity and originality. In a unique way, the art and architecture of Aztec, Inca and Guarani civilizations blended with those of Europe, North Africa and the Far East. In particular, the Spanish and Portuguese empires in Central and South America created the climate for a flourishing, diverse and distinct version of Renaissance and Baroque culture, produced under utterly different social and geographic conditions from those found in Europe.