Answering other questions about 2D art of the Americas - AP Art History

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Question

Ancient Mayan murals were most commonly created as __________.

Answer

Only a handful of ancient Mayan murals survive to the present day, but they all are massive plaster frescos usually found in archaeological sites. The giant murals at Bonakmal depict the court life of an ancient Mayan king in great detail. The paintings were done quite quickly, as they had to be completed before the plaster dried.

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Question

Pre-Columbian art was often a cultural expression of world views, religion, philosophy, and the sciences, because many Pre-Columbian civilizations did not have __________.

Answer

Pre-Columbian societies often did not have a system of writing, so for much of their histories, the visual arts was their primary source of communication and record keeping, along with word-of-mouth record-keeping and day-to-day verbal conversation.

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Question

The majority of early Mexican colonial art was __________________ in style, employing little dynamism and movement, and muted colors; however, the addition of small details like corn, cacao, and other characteristics of life in the Americas gave these works of art a distinct _____________________ feel.

Answer

The early art of the colonial Americas (namely Mexico) was derived from the European artistic principles that the Spanish brought with them to New Spain (what is now Mexico). When the native settlers of New Spain began to paint using such European principles, they also added details that they could relate to, such as crops native to the Americas, or imagery from the folklore of their culture. These additions gave their paintings a unique indigenous appearance.

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Question

Why did Mexican artworks preserve outdated European artistic trends?

Answer

Mexican painters were trained using imported European copies and engravings of popular paintings and other works. Therefore, by the time they mastered the techniques they were studying from the engravings and copies, the trends featured had already gone out of style.

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Question

The ______________ was a system of racial classification and hierarchy used by the Spanish elites of New Spain during the 17th and 18th centuries. This system inspired a series of artwork to be used as a reference, due to its complexity.

Answer

The Casta was a system of racial hierarchy used in New Spain and also in the Philippines during and after the Inquisition, based on perceived blood purity. It was determined by birth. Those with darker features had fewer opportunities, as did their children after them.

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Question

Mestizo._Mestiza._Mestiza.jpg

This painting is from the late 18th century in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. Its purpose is ________________________.

Answer

The Casta system of the Spanish colonies of the Americas neither encouraged nor discouraged the mixing of races, it was simply a hierarchy of races, in which white Europeans had more opportunities and rights than their dark-skinned, indigenous counterparts. This system was the subject of much colonial artwork, as many artists were commissioned to illustrate the different races and the classification of their offspring. The title of the painting, De español y mulata, morisca, translates to English as, "From Spanish and mulatto, comes morisco." This means that the child of pure Spanish blood and mulatto blood (mixed race), would be classified as a morisco.

Image from Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mestizo.\_Mestiza.\_Mestiza.jpg

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Question

What myth does The Coyolxauhqui Stone explain?

Answer

The answer is all of the above. The stone tells the story of Coyolxauhqui and her brothers attempting to kill their mother, Coatlicue, when they find out she is pregnant. Instead, Huitzilopochtli (the child she was pregnant with) emerges from Coatlicue's womb fully grown and defeats Coyolxauhqui. The stone depicts the exact moment Coyolxauhqui's body is broken after her beheaded body is thrown down the mountain.

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Question

What was one of the purposes of hide paintings produced by Native Americans, such as Cotsiogo or Cadzi Cody?

Answer

Hide paintings and oral stories were used by indigenous Native Americans to record their history, as they did not have access to the printing press until after the arrival of European invaders.

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