Description
THE KING'S VILLA: THE FEMALE WORLD OF NEW SPAIN IN THE 17TH CENTURY
Book Summary
This volume is the official catalog for the exhibition organized by the Museum of the Americas, curated by Andrés Gutiérrez Usillos. The work is structured around an enigmatic portrait painted around 1670, depicting Doña María Luisa de Toledo, daughter of the Marquis of Mancera, Viceroy of New Spain. Through the evocative, contrasting gaze of the two women appearing on the canvas, the reader will delve into the female universe of 17th-century New Spanish society, exploring the historical, social, and artistic context surrounding this work and its protagonists.
What is it about?
The book analyzes in depth the portrait of Doña María Luisa de Toledo, a hitherto anonymous work that serves as a common thread to explore the lives of women in 17th-century New Spain. The exhibition and its catalog focus on unraveling the origin of the painting, the identity of the depicted figures, and, above all, the complex female world surrounding them. It examines the social dynamics, hierarchies, gender roles, attire, and artistic representations of the era, offering a multifaceted view of what life was like for women in the viceroyalty, from the nobility to other social strata.
Main Themes
- Courtly portraiture and 17th-century New Spanish painting.
- The figure of the woman in viceregal society: nobility, roles, and representation.
- The historical and social context of New Spain under the viceroyalty of the Marquis of Mancera.
- Iconographic and historical analysis of an anonymous work of art.
- Power, gender, and lineage relations in the colonial world.
Who is it recommended for?
It is aimed at art historians, specialists in the colonial history of America, university students in the humanities, as well as readers interested in women's history, Hispano-American Baroque painting, and monographic museum exhibitions. It will also be of great value to collectors and professionals in the cultural sector seeking a detailed study of a key piece of artistic heritage.
What this book offers
- An exhaustive study of an unpublished and anonymous 17th-century portrait, contextualized within New Spanish artistic production.
- A renewed perspective on the role and representation of women in the viceregal elite.
- Rigorous and documented reference material, the result of professional curatorial research.
- Access to a high-quality visual catalog that accompanies and enriches the exhibition's narrative.
Technical Details
- Author: VV. AA.
- Publisher: Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. area d
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: FEMINISM AND FEMINIST THEORY
- Collection: FONDO
- Binding: Other
- Edition Date: June 2019
- Number of pages: 590
- Weight: 2832 g
Editorial Review
This is a reference publication for the study of New Spanish art and society. Its value lies in the depth of the analysis of a specific work that functions as a gateway to a complex social universe. It is a solid, well-documented, and visually rich academic work that will be of particular interest to those seeking a specialized and rigorous approach to the history of women in the colonial period.