Elena Rossi
Miguel Mateo Maldonado y Cabrera (1695–1768) was a Mexican painter of the late Baroque in New Spain. He created religious and secular art, including casta paintings, which depicted interracial marriage among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans. His work was influenced by the Baroque style of his time, and he is considered one of the greatest painters of his era. Cabrera's casta paintings, in particular, have gained recent attention for their nuanced exploration of race and social position in colonial Mexico. The purpose of his paintings was to illustrate and classify mestizaje (racial mixing) in a society that was becoming increasingly heterogeneous and racially transient.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To depict interracial marriage and racial mixing in Mexico's colonial society |
| Genre | Religious and secular art |
| Style | Baroque |
| Medium | Oil on canvas, copper, wall paintings |
| Size | Varied, from tiny works on copper to enormous canvases and wall paintings |
| Subjects | Amerindians, Spaniards, Africans, Virgin of Guadalupe, Archbishop Manuel José Rubio y Salinas, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz |
| Notable works | "From Spaniard and Morisca, Albino Girl" (1763), "The Virgin of the Apocalypse" (1760), "St. Francis Xavier", "St. Ignatius of Loyola" |
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Influence and legacy
Miguel Cabrera's paintings continue to be influential in the art world and beyond. His casta paintings, which depict interracial marriage among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans, are considered among the finest in the genre. They provide a unique insight into the racial dynamics of colonial Mexico and the anxieties of Spanish colonial society. Cabrera's casta paintings have been the subject of various analyses and interpretations, shedding light on the complexities of race and social position in the context of a heterogeneous and racially transient society.
One of Cabrera's most renowned casta paintings, "From Spaniard and Morisca, Albino Girl" (1763), has garnered particular attention. This painting, which is part of a sixteen-painting set, offers a nuanced understanding of the link between racialised ideas and their physical manifestation. The morisca mother's skin is painted just a shade darker than her Spanish husband, while their daughter, an albino girl, is depicted with exaggeratedly white skin and blonde hair. This painting crystallises the fantastical constructions of race within the colonial context.
Beyond his casta paintings, Cabrera is also known for his religious artworks. He was the official painter of the Archbishop of Mexico and created various religious portraits and altarpieces. His painting "The Virgin of the Apocalypse" (1760) is a notable example, illustrating Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. Additionally, Cabrera played a significant role in propagating the icon and faith in the Virgin of Guadalupe. He was tasked with creating official copies of the image and served as an arbiter of authenticity for reproductions by other artists.
Cabrera's artistic legacy is also evident in his contributions to art institutions. He founded the second Academy of Painting in Mexico City in 1753 and served as its director. This academy aimed to elevate the status of painting in the viceroyalty and brought together some of the best painters of that time. Cabrera's influence extended beyond his lifetime, with writer José Bernardo Couto praising his artistic prowess and supremacy even a century after his death. Today, Cabrera's paintings are showcased in various museums, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museo de América in Madrid.
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Artistic style
Miguel Cabrera was a Mexican painter of the late Baroque in New Spain. He is known for his religious and secular art, including casta paintings, portraits, altarpieces, and funerary monuments.
Cabrera's artistic style is characterised by his attention to detail, warm and vivid colours, firm drawing, and the poetic expressions on the faces of his subjects. He was a prolific artist, working with a large workshop of apprentices who specialised in specific tasks. Cabrera's casta paintings, which depict interracial marriages among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans, are considered among the finest in the genre. They showcase his ability to capture the intricate details of clothing and objects, such as the leather military uniform of a Spanish father or the floral chintz skirt and elaborate shawl of a Morisca mother.
His religious paintings, such as "The Virgin of the Apocalypse" and "Our Lady of Sorrows," are known for their graceful, joyful, serene, and sweet images that were attractive to congregations. Cabrera's religious works often featured the Virgin of Guadalupe, and he even wrote a treatise on the miraculous nature of her image. He was also the official painter of the Archbishop of Mexico, for whom he created portraits and religious art.
Cabrera worked on a variety of scales, from small paintings on copper to enormous canvases and wall paintings. His colours and poetic expressions were unparalleled in the Novo-Hispanic school of the 18th century. His style has been compared to that of Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Rubens, but with a softer and more delicate touch.
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Racial themes
Miguel Mateo Maldonado y Cabrera was a renowned painter during the Colonial period in Mexico. He is most famous for his casta paintings, which depict interracial marriage and racial mixing among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans in Mexico's colonial society.
One of his most notable casta paintings is "From Spaniard and Morisca, Albino Girl" (1763), which portrays a Spanish man, a Morisca woman, and their albino daughter. The painting crystallizes the bizarre and fantastical constructions of race within the Spanish colonial world. The Morisca mother's skin is painted just a shade darker than her Spanish husband, while their daughter is exaggeratedly white with blonde hair. This painting is part of a set of sixteen casta paintings, of which one is still missing.
Another example of Cabrera's casta paintings is "From Spaniard and Black, Mulatto Woman" (1763), which depicts a Spaniard man and a Mulatto woman, who is the daughter of a Spaniard and a black woman. This painting echoes the theory that albinos could only be born from darker parents of African descent and that the birth of albinos proved humanity's propensity to return to its so-called original whiteness, associated with purity.
Cabrera's casta paintings were produced largely for a European audience to classify and create order in an increasingly mixed society. They project Spanish anxiety around controlling a heterogeneous and racially transient society. The casta terminologies for mixed races were not legal labels but colloquialisms, and people on the ground used various methods to manipulate their identities based on phenotype, class, and social connections.
In addition to his casta paintings, Cabrera also painted religious and secular art for the Catholic Church and wealthy patrons. He was the official painter of the Archbishop of Mexico and was a favourite of the Jesuit order, which earned him many commissions. He was considered the greatest painter in New Spain during his lifetime.
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Religious themes
Miguel Mateo Maldonado y Cabrera (1695–1768) was a Mexican painter of the late Baroque in New Spain. He is known for his religious and secular art, including casta paintings, which depict interracial marriage among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans. Cabrera's religious themes often centred on the Virgin Mary and saints, with his artwork gracing altarpieces and chapels in Mexico's cathedrals and churches.
One of Cabrera's most notable religious works is "The Virgin of the Apocalypse", which illustrates Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation. This painting showcases Cabrera's dedication to religious themes, specifically the Virgin Mary, as he also created artworks centred on the Virgin of Guadalupe. His exploration of apocalyptic themes continued with "Woman of the Apocalypse", housed in the sacristy of a cathedral in Mexico City.
Cabrera's religious artwork extended to portraits of saints, including "Our Lady of Sorrows", "Our Lady of Mount Carmel", and depictions of St. Joseph and St. Anthony of Padua. These paintings often featured celestial scenes with angels and putti, expressing the ideological assumptions of devotion during his lifetime. Cabrera's religious oeuvre also included smaller works, such as portraits of religious figures like Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a seventeenth-century poet.
Beyond his large-scale canvases and altarpiece paintings, Cabrera designed funerary monuments, further showcasing the range of his religious artwork. His mastery of colour, composition, and expression earned him acclaim during his lifetime, with his artwork influencing the iconographies of faith in Mexico. Cabrera's religious themes extended beyond the Virgin Mary and saints, as he also explored biblical narratives and apocalyptic themes, contributing to the rich tapestry of religious art in the Baroque period.
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Secular themes
Miguel Mateo Maldonado y Cabrera was a Mexican painter of the late Baroque in New Spain. He created both religious and secular art for the Catholic Church and wealthy patrons. He is most famous for his casta paintings, which are considered among the genre's finest. These paintings depict interracial marriage among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans, illustrating and classifying mestizaje (racial mixing) in Mexico's colonial society.
Cabrera's casta paintings are a uniquely Mexican pictorial genre that documents the process of racial mixing among the colony's inhabitants. They create the impression of an orderly society with transparency regarding the race and, therefore, the social position of its mixed-race inhabitants. However, the reality was far more complex, as the casta terminologies for mixed races were not legal labels but colloquialisms. People used various methods to manipulate their identities based on phenotype, class, and social connections.
One notable example of Cabrera's casta paintings is "From Spaniard and Morisca, Albino Girl" (1763), which depicts a Spanish father, a Morisca mother, and their Albina daughter. The mother's skin is painted just a shade darker than her Spanish husband, while their daughter is exaggeratedly white with blonde hair. This painting crystallizes the bizarre and fantastical constructions of race within the Spanish colonial world.
Another example is "From Spaniard and Black, Mulatto Woman" (1763), which portrays a Spaniard and a black woman who produce a mulatto daughter. This painting echoes the theory that albinos could only be born from darker parents and that albinos proved that darker bodies could revert to whiter ones without mixing with Europeans ("whites"). This theory was important as it supported the belief that the original colour of humankind was white, associated with purity.
In addition to his casta paintings, Cabrera also painted portraits, altarpieces, and viceregal portraits. He was the official painter of the Archbishop of Mexico and was a favourite of the Jesuit order, which earned him many commissions.
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Frequently asked questions
Miguel Cabrera's casta paintings, such as 'From Spaniard and Morisca, Albino Girl' (1763), illustrate and classify mestizaje (racial mixing) in Mexico's colonial society. They depict interracial marriage among Amerindians, Spaniards, and Africans.
Miguel Cabrera's paintings were largely religious in nature, with a focus on the Virgin of Guadalupe. He also painted secular art, portraits, and altarpieces.
Miguel Cabrera is considered the greatest painter of the viceroyalty in New Spain during his lifetime. He is known for his casta paintings, which are considered among the finest in the genre.
Miguel Cabrera was known for his use of warm and vivid colours, firm drawing, and the poetic expressions on the faces of his subjects. He worked on a range of scales, from small to enormous canvases, as well as wall paintings.
