ART OF THE AMERICAS AFTER 1300

Transcription

1 ART OF THE AMERICAS AFTER 1300 AZTECS Tenochtitlan and the Codex Mendoza The Great Pyramid Religious Sculpture: iconography and style Featherwork INCAS Masonry techniques Machu Picchu: city-sanctuary Textiles: between fashion and writing

2 The Aztec Empire When we saw so many cities and villages built on the water and other great towns and that straight and level causeway going towards [Tenochtitlan], we were amazed on account of the great towers and [temples] and buildings raising from the water, and all built of masonry. And some of our soldiers even asked whether the things that we saw were not a dream

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4 First page of a codex by Aztec artists for the Spanish viceroy The Founding of Tenochtitlan, from Codex Mendoza. Aztec, 16th century. Ink and color on paper, h. 12 3/8, University of Oxford

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7 Symbolic illustration of the founding and ideal map of the capital: Legend of Eagle and pear cactus (tenochtili) City divided into 4 quarters by waterways The Founding of Tenochtitlan, from Codex Mendoza. Aztec, 16th century. Ink and color on paper, h. 12 3/8, University of Oxford

8 Quarters and wards

9 Aztec conquests

10 Great Pyramid for human sacrifices (in the sacred precinct)

11 Reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztecs - the centre of modern Mexico City. (National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico City)

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13 Mexico City, Excavated remains of the Main Temple in the Sacred Precinct of Tenochtitlan

14 In the temple of Huitzilopochtli? Iconography: Twisted serpent skirt (meaning of Coatlicue) clawed hands and feet 2 serpents form her head (1 eye each, their mouths her mouth) Necklace of human body parts + a skull The Goddess Coatlicue, Aztec, Basalt, h. 8 6, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City

15 Head of a Water Deity, 15th early 16th century Mexico; Aztec Basalt

16 Coiled Serpent, 15th early 16th century Mexico; Aztec Stone

17 Deity Figure (Cihuateotl), 15th early 16th century Mexico; Aztec Stone

18 Form: intricate yet simple/solid, originally colored, frontal, symmetrical Described as covered by blood The Goddess Coatlicue, Aztec, Basalt, h. 8 6, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City

19 Importance of color in sculpture, architecture and fashion Moctezuma s gift to Cortes (known as Moctezuma s Crown) Feathers of a variety of birds - reed frame High status of featherworkers Ceremonial use: re Feather Headdress of Moctezuma, before 1519, Quetzal, macaw parrot and other feathers on a reed frame, Vienna

20 16th cent. Inca empire one of the largest of the world (expansion 15th cent.) Ethnically and linguistically diverse - strong unifying religion, bureaucracy, taxes Immediate distruction Capital: Cuzco, Andes Mountains

21 Cuzco: praised for masonry buildings, still existent in the modern city Wall of the Golden Enclosure (surmounted by the church of Santo Domingo), Inca, Cuzco, Peru, 15th century.

22 2 kinds: rectangular or irregular blocks Tightly fit, no mortar set.height.420 set.title.inca_masonry /p h/hss/ssa_shared_media_1/art/archsim/incairregular-b.mov

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24 Machu Picchu, Peru. Inca, ,

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26 Terrace construction On Hiram Bingham and the archaeological discovery:

27 Ancient tradition of textile production in the Andes Clothing more valued than gold No writing: history, accounts, kept on QUIPU, knotted and colored cords Complex math Compared to computer language Tunic, Inca, c. 1500, Wool and cotton, h. Mantle -- Peru, Paracas 35 7/8 NECROPOLIS 200 BCE CE

28 Formal: variety of colors, complex geometric designs Clothing not tailored but woven into rectangular shapes Not only regular clothing (tunics, belts, mantles, long dresses, bags) Checkerboard= military officer But also military, religious Here: each square = one tunic Iconography of patterns Color/motifs are standardize --> recognizable 4 parts = Inca empire called Land of the 4 Quarters