Nahuatl: Feather Painting Analysis

This work appears to be neither purely indigenous American nor European but instead a combination of the two, most likely an indigenous American artist with European influence or training (a combination common with most art in viceregal era latin America). This combination can be seen primarily in the main aspects of the work: the materials and technique, the composition and scale, and lastly, the subject and iconography of the work. The materials used in this work appear to be sheet gold, feathers, and amatl on wood. Feather painting (amantecayotl, in Nahuatl) was a traditional medium in precolonial Latin America, and the primary medium that indigenous artists utilized to replicate European styles and iconography in the viceregal time. Feather painting was a style mostly employed in New Spain during the 16th century.
This technique is not quite as naturalistic and realistic as European art of this time, but it is drastically more naturalistic than the traditional indigenous art. Figures depicted in native indian art were solid, bright colors with harsh black outlines, creating an almost cartoonish effect. Additionally, indigenous artists had different conceptions and depictions of the human profile; often times the directions that different body parts were facing would form a composite profile that was not physically accurate. This depiction of profiles and figures is more anatomically correct than most original indigenous works. The dark coloring of the painting reveals indigenous roots, and allows for lighter parts of the piece to become the focal point. In this work, the light shines primarily on the foreground of the painting and consequently the eye of the viewer is drawn to the figure in the