Jose De Alcibar Casta Painting Analysis
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Siegman 1Prompt: Casta paintings, produced for elite criollo audiences (i.e., those of Spanish ancestry born in the Americas), bolstered economic and social inequality and legitimized a racial hierarchy that kept criollos at the top. The development of a highly complex and somewhat variable Casta system in the Spanish colonies and at home is a way of encoding economic hierarchy onto the body of colonial subjects produced through population contact in Spanish colonies. These paintings were produced for elite consumers in Spanish colonies and back in Spain, maintaining an empire-wide knowledge and faith in the social order. Specifically, these paintings depict lower racial castes situation of labor, poverty, and social …show more content…
The affective relationships between family members are also ranked, with the families of colonized people being the most pitiful. Civility and success distinguish the upper classes. In the first Casta painting in the series by José de Alcibar, the economic position of the Spaniard is clearly shown. el español is directing a worker who is arranging agricultural produce for display or sale. His tights are clean white, clearly someone who would never stoop to the language produced by the darker other to his left. The Indigenous woman, is well-dressed in a huipil that denotes her identity but also shows her status and wealth. Her child, stand erect and poised, ready to respond to the world. The married couple are a bit disaffected from each other by their orientation, but harbor no ill will. The building behind them is sold and robust, and the trees are full of fruit while a bird balances on a fence. These natural symbols connote wealth and prosperity. The second and third of Alcibar’s casta paintings show a Spanish man with a spouse of partial indigenous origin. They are similar to the first. In both cases the married woman’s dress is closer to a Spanish or colonial period
1
of 3
ZOOM
Siegman 1Prompt: Casta paintings, produced for elite criollo audiences (i.e., those of Spanish ancestry born in the Americas), bolstered economic and social inequality and legitimized a racial hierarchy that kept criollos at the top. The development of a highly complex and somewhat variable Casta system in the Spanish colonies and at home is a way of encoding economic hierarchy onto the body of colonial subjects produced through population contact in Spanish colonies. These paintings were produced for elite consumers in Spanish colonies and back in Spain, maintaining an empire-wide knowledge and faith in the social order. Specifically, these paintings depict lower racial castes situation of labor, poverty, and social …show more content…
The affective relationships between family members are also ranked, with the families of colonized people being the most pitiful. Civility and success distinguish the upper classes. In the first Casta painting in the series by José de Alcibar, the economic position of the Spaniard is clearly shown. el español is directing a worker who is arranging agricultural produce for display or sale. His tights are clean white, clearly someone who would never stoop to the language produced by the darker other to his left. The Indigenous woman, is well-dressed in a huipil that denotes her identity but also shows her status and wealth. Her child, stand erect and poised, ready to respond to the world. The married couple are a bit disaffected from each other by their orientation, but harbor no ill will. The building behind them is sold and robust, and the trees are full of fruit while a bird balances on a fence. These natural symbols connote wealth and prosperity. The second and third of Alcibar’s casta paintings show a Spanish man with a spouse of partial indigenous origin. They are similar to the first. In both cases the married woman’s dress is closer to a Spanish or colonial period